BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

O 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


NEW  MEXICO: 


HEE  KESOUKCES;  HEK  NECESSITIES  FOE  EAILEOAD 

COMMUNICATION  WITH  THE  ATLANTIC  AND 

PACIFIC  STATES;  HER  GEEAT  FUTUEE. 


BY    CHARLES    P.    CLEVER,      '.&' 

DELEGATE  FROM  NEW  MEXICO. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

McGILL  &  TTITHEROW,  PRINTERS  AND  STEREOTYPERS. 

1868. 


Gb3 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

January  8,  1868. 

I  am  so  often  written  to  and  questioned  about  New  Mex- 
ico, the  Territory  from  which  I  have  been  returned  as  Dele- 
gate, that  I  have  considered  it  best  to  have  printed  such 
general  information  about  that  country,  and  its  resources,  as 
a  few  hours,  snatched  from  those  occupied  by  the  duties  of 
my  position,  permit  me  to  give. 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  not  long  after  the  conquest  of 
Mexico,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  in  Culiacan  to  proceed 
northward  and  eastward  in  search  of  the  "  Seven  cities  of 
Cibola,"  one  of  which  was  Quivira,  where  rumor  said  that 
gold  abounded  in  great  quantities.  This  rumor  had  been 
brought  by  some  two  or  three  persons,  one  a  negro,  who 
either  had  voluntarily  wandered  into  that  country  of  Cibola, 
or  had  been  forcibly  carried  there,  and  had  afterwards  made 
their  way  back  to  their  friends,  the  Spaniards.  The  expedi- 
tion was  commanded  by  Yasquez  de  Coronada,  and,  though 
small,  was  made  up  of  many  who  belonged  to  the  chivalry 
of  Spain.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  trace  out  the  route  and 
the  adventures  of  this  body  of  those  gallant  and  hardy  spirits 
from  the  day  they  set  out  until  their  return;  but  the  limits 
of  this  slight  sketch  do  not  permit  this.  A  journal  was  kept 
by  one  Castenada,  who  belonged  to  the  expedition,  and  this 
has  been  published,  and  will  be  read  with  interest  by  all 


who  seek  to  know  of  the  early  expeditions  made  by  Euro- 
peans into  the  heart  of  our  country. 

When  the  people  belonging  to  Coronada's  expedition  re- 
turned to  the  settled  portions  of  the  vice  royalty  of  Mexico, 
they  imparted  to  their  countrymen  there  a  knowledge  of  the 
beautiful  and  salubrious  region  they  had  visited.  Settlers 
began  to  migrate  northward  toward  Sonora  and  Chihuahua, 
and  finally  into  "New  Mexico.  This  was  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Farms  were  then  opened,  and  large  churches 
were  built  by  Indian  labor  under  the  direction  of  Catholic 
missionaries;  and,  tradition  says,  that  rich, mines  were  dis- 
covered, in  which  the  Indians  were  compelled  by  force,  and 
often  by  cruelty,  to  toil.  At  length,  exasperated  beyond 
further  endurance,  they  rose  on  their  oppressors,  and  destroy- 
ing many,  drove  all  of  the  remainder  out  of  New  Mexico  as 
far  southward  as  El  Paso  del  Norte.  This  was  in  the  month 
of  August,  in  the  year  1680. 

About  twenty  years  afterwards,  a  new  effort  was  made  by 
the  Spaniards  to  settle  the  country.  This  was  permanently 
successful ;  but  the  new  comers  for  a  long  time  never  ven- 
tured far  from  the  valley  of  the  Eio  Grande.  Back  from 
that  river,  away  amidst  the  mountains,  and  on  the  plains,  are 
still  seen  the  ruins  of  churches  and  monasteries  which,  as 
ruins,  excite  admiration;  and,  from  their  remoteness,  gran- 
deur, and  now  utter  loneliness,  are  subjects  of  wonder  and 
curious  speculation.  As  they  now  interest  the  antiquary 
and  the  ethnologist,  so  when  time  slips  away,  and  the  Scotts 
and  Schillers,  and  Byrons  and  Longfellows  come  there,  then 
they  will  be  rebuilt  and  repeopled,  and  be  known  in  enduring 
song.  The  very  veil  of  mystery  which  seems  now  to  hang 
about  them,  and  about  those  who  built  them,  will  be  appa- 
rently rent  away,  and  what  is  now  but  so  lonely  and  so  weird, 
will  then  be  made  bright  and  enchanting  forever. 

Since  the  Territory  of  Arizona  was  set  off"  from  New  Mex- 
ico, the  latter  Territory  extends  from  longitude  103°  to  longi- 
tude 109°,  west  from  Greenwich;  and  from  latitude  31°  30' 
to  latitude  37°  north,  and  contains  121,201  square  miles,  01 
77,568,640  acres,  The  Rio  Grande  and  the  Pecos  river  are 


the  principal  rivers,  which  run  through  it  from  a  northerly 
to  a  southerly  direction.  The  streams  forming  the  head- 
waters of  the  Canadian  affluent  to  the  Arkansas,  are  those 
draining  the  eastern  side  of  the  Territory.  Cordilleras  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  run  from  north  to  south,  but  are  here 
and  there  lost  in  the  table  lands  to  rise  again  further  on, 
either  as  isolated  peaks,  or  as  short  sierras.  From  the  most 
eastern  of  these  ranges,  and  extending  toward  the  east,  are  vast 
steppes,  like  terraces,  one  lower  than  the  other,  marking  an- 
cient levels  of  the  country,  the  summits  of  which  gradually 
slope  toward  the  Mississippi.  Through  these  steppes  during 
the  lapse  of  eons  of  ages,  the  rivers  and  streams  have  worn 
for  themselves  channels,  and  grooved  out  valleys  of  the  most 
surpassing  loveliness  and  of  great  fertility.  The  valley  of 
the  Rio  Grande  and  of  the  Pecos  have  been  fashioned  in  the 
same  manner,  and  are  intervales  of  Like  character;  but  near 
the  head  of  the  Pecos,  and  on  each  side  of  the  upper  Rio 
Grande,  the  country  rises  into  mountain  peaks  of  indescrib- 
a^le  grandeur  and  beauty. 

West  of  the  Rio  Grande  lies  a  country  of  table  lands,  or 
mesas,  with  broad  valleys  between.  These  mesas  are  also  the 
remains  of  a  former  level,  and  many  of  them,  standing  out 
apart  from  others,  resemble  fortresses  and  castles  of  a  size 
sufficient  to  have  been  occupied  by  armies  of  Titans.  Here 
and  there,  amongst  them,  rises  up  a  peak,  now  become  an 
extinct  volcano.  Down  the  side  of  these  peaks,  and  over 
some  of  the  mesas  I  have  described,  and  through  valleys  be- 
tween mesas,  once  poured  rivers  of  lava.  Even  now,  as  the 
traveller  comes  to  some  of  these  rivers,  they  seem  as  if  they 
must  have  been  suddenly  arrested  in  their  course,  and  been 
cooled  only  a  few  years  gone  by  into  black  and  immovable 
stone. 

In  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  Territory  there  is  a 
range  of  high  mountains  extending  from  the  Rio  Grande  far 
into  Arizona.  The  waters  running  off  their  southern  slope 
form  the  head-waters  of  the  Miembres,  which  runs  toward 
Lake  Guzman,  in  Chihuahua;  and  also  form  the  head- 
waters of  the  Gila,  running  westward  into  the  Colorado. 


6 

The  mountains  throughout  New  Mexico  are  clad  with 
forests  of  pine,  spruce,  cedar,  fir,  and  other  kindred  trees. 
At  high  altitudes  the  aspen  is  found  in  great  quantities. 
The  foot  hills  and  many  of  the  mesas,  are  covered  with  the 
pinon,  often  intermixed  with  cedar  trees.  Along  the  rivers 
and  streams,  the  natural  growth  is  principally  made  up  of 
cotton  woods,  sycamores,  hackherry,  willow,  wild  grape  vines, 
&c.  On  streams  in  the  southern  part  of  the  country,  walnut 
and  oak  are  found ;  but  not  to  any  great  extent.  The  whole 
of  New  Mexico  may  be  said  to  be  covered  with  grass ;  for 
even  in  the  forests  is  found  the  year  around  the  most  luxuri- 
ant grass.  In  the  winter  time,  at  very  great  altitudes,  this 
grass  is  covered  with  snow ;  but  it  does  not  seem  to  be  killed 
to  the  ground,  for  as  soon  as  the  snow  melts,  it  at  once  af- 
fords excellent  grazing.  All  over  the  mesas  and  through 
the  valleys,  grows  the  grama,  a  grass  justly  celebrated  for 
its  nutritious  qualities.  This  does  not  wilt  and  become 
effete  in  winter;  but  becomes  cured  as  hay,  just  where  it 
stands,  and  the  flocks  and  herds  feed  upon  it  all  winter.  It 
may  here  be  said,  that  New  Mexico  is  so  delightfully  situated 
as  to  climate,  that,  as  a  pastoral  region,  its  grazing  is  not 
destroyed  by  the  cold  storms  and  bleaching  rains  of  the 
countries  farther  north;  nor  is  it  burnt  up  or  become 
stunted  and  sparse,  by  the  burning  heats  of  the  countries 
further  south. 

The  valleys  of  the  rivers  can  all  be  successfully  cultivated. 
The  cultivation  of  land  in  New  Mexico  is  mainly  by  the 
help  of  irrigation.  It  is  true,  it  costs  some  labor  to  make 
the  ditches,  but,  then,  the  farmer  is  sure  of  a  crop ;  and  the 
running  over  his  land  of  water  highly  charged  with  detritus, 
made  up  of  decayed  vegetation  and  rich  mould  from  the 
mountains  above,  is  a  source  of  fertility.  In  this  way  the 
land  never  wears  out.  Irrigation  thus  becomes  a  fertilizer. 

The  agricultural  interests  of  New  Mexico  have  heretofore 
been  confined  to  the  raising  of  wheat,  corn,  beans,  oats, 
barley.  In  some  localities  in  the  north,  potatoes  grow  well; 
but  along  the  valleys  they  cannot  be  successfully  cultivated. 
The  chile,  or  red  pepper,  of  which  the  Spanish  people  make 


some  fine  dishes,  is  grown  in  great  abundance  all  over  the 
country.  Since  the  Americans  have  gone  to  New  Mexico, 
nearly  aU  kinds  of  garden  vegetables  and  fruits  have  been 
introduced,  and  grow  luxuriously  and  are  of  excellent  size 
and  flavor.  Peaches,  apples,  apricots,  grapes,  and  in  the 
south,  quinces,  pomegranates  and  figs,  can  be  grown  as  well 
in  ~New  Mexico  as  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Indeed,  with 
such  a  variety  of  climate,  and  with  such  a  rich  and  varied 
soil,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  kind  of  fruit,  except 
that  which  needs  the  fervor  of  a  tropical  sun,  that  could  not 
be  grown  within  the  boundaries  of  New  Mexico.  The 
variety  of  the  grape  which  is  most  cultivated  in  New  Mex- 
ico, cannot  be  surpassed  for  flavor  by  any  grape  in  the  world. 
The  wine  made  from  it  far  surpasses  the  best  Burgundy.  It 
requires  but  little  labor  to  cultivate  the  vine,  as  no  trellises 
are  used.  In  a  few  years  the  grape  culture  will  be  one  of 
the  greatest  and  most  profitable  branches  of  industry  in  that 
country. 

The  pastoral  interests  will  be  of  the  next  greater  value. 
As  before  remarked,  the  whole  country  is  a  grazing  country. 

Those  wTho  raise  sheep  and  goats  know  that  they  want  a 
plenty  of  room  and  air.  Half  of  the  diseases  incident  to 
these  animals  arise  from  having  them  huddled  together  in 
yards  or  barns  in  cold  weather.  In  New  Mexico,  the  range 
is  so  extensive  the  flocks  can  spread  out,  and  can  move  over 
different  pasturage  every  successive  day.  No  shelter  is 
needed  in  the  winter  time.  In  very  cold  weather  the  flocks 
move  southward,  and  when  inclement  storms  come  on  go 
down  from  the  uplands  to  seek  the  genial  shelter  of  some 
neighboring  canon.  So,  except  to  make  a  start  in  procuring 
a  flock  of  sheep  or  of  goats,  the  cost  of  feeding  and  of  at- 
tending them,  is  a  mere  nominal  sum.  As  soon  as  we  can 
introduce,  by  railroad,  improved  breeds  of  sheep,  and  the 
Cashmere  goat,  we  can  compete  with  the  world  in  the  pro- 
duction of  fine  wool,  and  of  the  exceedingly  fine  hair  of 
that  goat.  Of  course,  what  is  said  of  the  facility  and  cheap- 
ness of  raising  sheep  and  goats,  will  equally  apply  to  the 
raising  of  horses  and  cattle.  We  can  therefore  furnish  the 


8 

best  of  beef,  and  of  butter  and  cheese,  cheaper,  when  once 
we  are  protected  in  the  raising  of  stock  from  Indian  depre- 
dations, than  any  country  in  the  world.  Except  for  work, 
cattle  and  horses,  which  are  kept  about  the  farms  or  foi 
daily  use,  hardly  any  hay,  or  fodder,  or  corn  need  be  put  up. 
The  time  is  not  far  distant  when  our  hills  and  mountains 
will  literally  be  covered  with  flocks  and  herds. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  the  country  is  simply  enormous. 
The  almost  daily  discoveries  of  new  lodes  of  gold  and  silver- 
bearing  quartz,  and  of  auriferous  placers,  have  ceased  to  be 
a  surprise  in  New  Mexico.  The  people  of  intelligence  and 
knowledge  of  such  matters,  know  that  as  soon  as  men  with 
capital  can  come  and  see  what  they  see,  then  these  mines  will 
yield  untold  millions. 

New  Mexico  has  her  useful  metals  and  minerals  in  the 
greatest  abundance. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  making  some  extracts  from  a  very 
able  report  on  this  subject,  made  in  1865,  by  Professor  Rich- 
ard  Dale  Owen,  and  by  Professor  E.  T.  Cox,  both  gentlemen 
of  great  authority  in  the  scientific  world  as  geologists  and 
chemists.  The  report  alluded  to  was  published  in  this  city 
by  the  Hon.  John  S.  Watts,  formerly  Delegate  from  New 
Mexico,  who  has  labored  hard  to  bring  to  public  notice  the 
value  of  that  Territory  : 

"When,  by  a  gradual  ascent  over  the  Plains,  we  reach  the 
foot  of  the  Rocky  mountains  we  do  not  find  a  vast  succession 
of  promiscuously  piled  mountains;  but  we  have  several  par- 
allel ridges  of  crystaline  rocks  with  sedimentary  strata  on 
their  flanks,  and  a  second  series  of  hypogene  parallel  ridges 
with  a  trend  diverging  often  50°  or  more  from  the  former; 
this  latter  also  sometimes  further  modifying  the  aqueous 
beds.  These  together  constitute  the  main  dividing  range 
which  separates  the  waters  of  the  great  Mississippi  valley 
from  those  which  flow  into  the  Pacific,  while  mesas  or  table 
lands,  formed  by  the  overflow  of  volcanic  rocks,  have  to 
great  extent  levelled  the  intervening  inequalities. 

"In  the  Raton  mountain,  close  to  the  stage  road,  we 
examined  a  five-foot  bed  of  bituminous  coal,  and  on  reach- 


9 

tng  the  summit  found  fossil  angiospermous  dicotyledonous 
leaves  in  shale  of  Cretaceous  age.  At  the  fine  hacienda  of 
Mr.  Maxwell,  formerly  hunter  and  guide  in  Fremont's  expe- 
dition, the  proprietor  pointed  to  his  coal  bed  in  the  moun- 
tain side,  distinctly  visible  from  the  house,  above  aluminous 
shales.  Two  miles  N.  E.  of  Santa  Fe,  we  found  a  thin  bed 
of  coal,  coal  plants,  and  carboniferous  limestone. 

"  Near  the  Placer  mountain  we  examined  a  bed  almost 
five  feet  thick  of  the  best  anthracite,  altered  by  porphyritic 
contact;  the  same  porphyry  dike  five  miles  from  there,  in 
the  gold  diggings  of  Placer,  bringing  up  almost  to  a  vertical 
position  the  carboniferous  limestone  and  superincumbent 
sandstone,  again  forming  a  breccia  near  the  junction;  the 
whole  overlaid  by  cretaceous,  judging  from  the  fragments 
of  silicious  coniferous  wood,  the  same  as  seen  at  Galisteo 
creek.  Lieutenant  Simpson,  in  his  expedition  with  Colonel 
Washington,  found  bituminous  coal  abundant  on  the  Rio 
Puerco ;  and  General  Carleton  observed  a  bed  on  Rabbit  Ear 
creek.  Coal  is  also  dug  near  Fort  Craig,  and  we  heard  of 
it  in  other  parts  of  southern  New  Mexico. 

"For  convenience  of  reference,  details  will  be  given — 1, 
of  gold  mines;  2,  of  silver;  3,  of  copper;  4,  of  iron  and 
other  metallic  ores ;  5,  of  mineral  products  not  metallic. 

"  1.  Gold  mines. 

"A.  Old  Placer  mine,  in  Placer  mountain,  twenty-seven 
miles  S.  S.  E.  from  Santa  Fe'.  The  mountain  -is  situated 
about  the  point  of  intersection  for  the  Jemez  range,  if  not 
interrupted  by  the  Rio  Grande,  with  the  prolongation  of  the 
Rocky  mountain  range,  which  passes  east  of  Santa  Fe,  the 
main  mass  being  a  felspathic  syenite,  the  summit  estimated 
at  about  8,000  feet  high;  but  the  mountain  slope  cut  through, 
at  less  than  7,000  feet  above  the  ocean,  by  a  N.  K  E.  por- 
phyritic dike,  which,  in  its  eruption,  has  brought  carboni- 
ferious  strata  to  the  surface.  As  the  name  indicates,  these 
o\d  placer  diggings  were  worked  by  washing  the  soil,  although 
undoubtedly  many  auriferous  sands  cannot  be  traced  to 
their  origin,  yet  here,  by  ascending  higher  to  the  vein  which 
furnished  the  gold  detritus,  a  quartz  rock  is  quarried  and 
2 


10 

brought  down  to  the  mill  to  be  worked.  The  highest,  or 
Ortiz  vein,  by  my  barometer,  6,950  feet  above  the  sea,  has 
been  reached  by  shafts  at  numerous  openings,  which  show 
that  the  vein  trends  chiefly  E.  of  BT.,  although  two  northerly 
openings  bear  somewhat  west.  The  deepest  shaft,  affording 
the  best  ore,  has  reached  a  depth  of  over  150  feet,  and  when 
carried  further  down,  may  be  expected  to  develop  ore  of 
greater  value.  The  ladders  being  decayed,  we  could  not 
descend  that  shaft,  but  by  an  inspection  of  others,  and  of 
the  ore  thrown  out  at  the  deep  shaft,  we  ascertained  that  the 
wall  rock  is  highly  felspathic,  and  contains  much  iron,  the 
vein  is  from  one  to  four  feet  wide,  and  the  gangue  a  porous 
drusy  ferruginous  quartz. 

"  Here,  as  in  California,  it  is  considered  more  favorable  to 
find  gold  in  rocks,  where  it  is  not  visible  to  the  naked  eye, 
than  to  find  occasional  rich  lumps,  the  latter  being  in  pockets 
and  giving  out  sooner,  while  the  minutely  diffused  is  persis- 
tent. Such  is  the  character  of  the  quartz  vein  in  the  Ortiz 
mine,  particularly  of  those  pieces  having  a  porous  ferrugin- 
ous appearance. 

"A  short  distance  from  this  mine  extensive  works  have 
been  erected,  a  reservoir  has  been  constructed  across  the 
outflow  from  a  spring  so  as  to  save  the  water;  a  steam 
engine  of  forty-horse  power  drives  the  quartz  crushers,  be- 
sides giving  motion  to  an  arastra  (or  circular  bed  often  made 
of  phorphyry  blocks)  which  was  nearly  completed  when  we 
were  there,  on  which  the  crushed  ore  is  more  minutely  pul- 
verized and  intimately  amalgamated.  On  the  old  inferior 
method,  we  learn  that  for  several  years  the  average  from 
this  mine  was  sufficient  to  remunerate  those  engaged  in  it; 
and  it  is  anticipated  that  on  the  more  improved  plan,  now 
being  introduced,  much  more  will  be  realized ;  as  formerly, 
the  dirt  which  had  been  run  off  and  rejected,  was  made  to 
afford  profit  by  rewashing.  The  annual  yield,  we  learn,  has 
resulted  as  high  as  $40,000  to  $50,000 ;  even  according  to 
Gregg,  in  his  '  Commerce  of  the  Praries/  to  $80,000  in  the 
years  1832  and  1835. 

"  The  Cuningham  works  are  a  short  distance  further  east, 


11 

in  the  same  mountain  where  the  porphyritic  trap  described 
in  the  general  geology,  has  brought  up  and  formed  a  breccia 
with  a  carboniferous  limestone,  and  at  other  places  with  the 
overlying  sandstone.  The  same  breccia  may  be  found  yet 
higher  toward  the  Ortiz  openings,  wherever  the  porphyry 
protrudes.  At  the  Cuningham  excavations  the  dike  is  fifty 
to  sixty  feet  wide,  and  as  the  feldspar  is  decomposing,  this 
brecciated  rock  is  easily  worked  for  gold  and  made  profit- 
able, although  affording  a  lower  percentage  of  metal  than 
the  Ortiz  and  adjoining  Tunica  quartz  veins. 

The  ore  from  the  Ortiz  mine,  after  being  crushed  and 
pulverized,  and  after  being  separated  from  the  rock  and 
magnetic  iron  ore,  afforded  on  digestion  with  nitric  acid  and 
being  freed  from  impurities,  a  quantity*  equal  to  three 
ounces  and  two  pennyweights  of  gold  to  the  ton  of  2,000 
pounds  of  the  ore.  This,  at  the  present  value  of  the  metal, 
worth  in  paper  money  from  $36  to  $40  per  ounce  would  con- 
sequently be  considerably  over  $100  to  the  ton ;  a  very  heavy 
percentage  when  we  consider,  as  already  stated,  that  in 
California,  companies  with  suitable  machinery,  work  profit- 
ably ore  affording  $20  a  ton  or  even  sometimes  that  which 
realizes  only  $10  per  ton. 

"B.  Gold  in  quartz  veins  near  San  Jose  copper  mine. 
Not  more  than  a  mile  or  at  most  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of 
the  San  Jose  copper  mine,  we  saw  at  least  six  parallel  quartz 
veins,  some  of  which  had  been  extensively  and  profitably 
worked  for  gold  until  the  miners  were  driven  off'  by  the 
Indians.  The  veins  run  somewhat  E.  of  N.  and  W.  of  S. 
across  a  porphyritic  ridge,  which  in  its  W.  of  N".  course  has 
tilted  the  sandstone  with  an  easterly  dip.  From  these  works 
samples  were  also  taken  for  examination  and  analysis. 
Specimens  of  gold  quartz  from  many  other  localities  were 

*Since  the  above,  Mr.  Cox  has  forwarded  an  analysis  of  the  gold,  &c., 
thus  obtained  from  the  Ortiz  gold  quartz  in  the  Placer  mountain. 
The  result  afforded  :    Gold,        99.170 

Silver,         .782 

Iridium,      .048 

100.000 


12 

brought  us  for  inspection,  chiefly  by  soldiers,  affording  strong 
evidence  of  the  mineral  wealth  both  of  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona;  but  we  deem  it  best  to  confine  our  detailed  re- 
port to  those  regions  which  we  visited  personally,  mention- 
ing only  casually  such  as,  from  the  testimony  of  others, 
might  merit  future  attention.  Regarding  the  various  modes 
of  working  these  gold  ores,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  add 
that  Tire's  recommendation,  based  chiefly,  however,  on  the 
experience  obtained  in  European  and  South  American  gold 
mines,  is  not  to  melt  directly  with  lead,  (as  has  been  pro- 
posed by  some  connected  with  the  Placer,)  unless  the  ore  is 
remarkably  rich.  He  adds :  '  These  processes  are  little 
practiced,  because  they  are  less  economical  than  amalga- 
mation.' 

"  C.  We  heard  of  gold  in  placer  diggings  twenty-five  or 
thirty  miles  north  of  Fort  Stanton,  but  had  no  opportunity 
of  examining  the  locality. 

"  2.  Silver  mines. — The  chief  localities  furnishing  this  pre- 
cious metal,  which  we  had  an  opportunity  to  visit,  exhibit 
the  silver  in  combination  with  lead.  In  most  instances  an 
approximate  result  was  readily  obtained,  through  cupellation 
on  a  small  scale,  under  the  flame  of  the  blowpipe.  The  ores 
will,  however,  all  be  subjected  to  rigid  analysis  for  exact 
quantitative  determination. 

"A.  The  San  Adelia  and  Stevenson  mine  in  Organ  moun- 
tain. These  are  so  near  each  other,  as  you  are  aware,  (being 
perhaps  two  miles  apart  in  a  direct  line  in  the  same  range,) 
that  they  may  be  described  under  one  head,  although  owned 
separately. 

"  The  Organ  mountain,  as  far  up  as  we  examined  it,  is 
composed  of  a  granitic  porphyry,  which  in  its  protrusion  has 
elevated  not  only  the  sandstone  several  hundred  feet  on  its 
western  slope,  but  has  even  brought  up  the  carboniferous 
limestone.  This  occurs  especially  near  the  San  Adelia  mine, 
where  the  limestone  is  metamorphosed  in  places  to  a  beau- 
tiful white  chrystaline  marble.  Several  parallel  quartz  veins 
have  also  cut  through  in  a  northerly  and  southerly  direction, 
and  it  is  in  these  the  metal  chiefly  occurs.  The  Stevenson 


13 

mine  has  been  extensively  worked,  chiefly  for  the  argentif- 
erous galena,  at  five  separate  openings,  each  having  a  dis- 
tinctive name.  This  ore  afforded  a  good  globule  of  silver 
when  cupelled  under  the  blow-pipe;  but  it  will  be  further 
tested  on  a  larger  scale.  Some  openings,  however,  are 
worked  for  their  copper  ores,  vitreous  copper,  malachite  and 
azurite,  occasionally  associated  with  calcspar,  at  other  times 
having  a  gangue  of  baryta.  The  amount  of  silver  lead  ore 
seems  large,  as  the  vein  or  lode  frequently  is  five  to  six  feet 
wide,  never  less  than  two  feet,  with  the  ore  diffused  pretty 
well  through  it.  The  highest  opening,  called  San  Domingo, 
near  the  summit  of  the  uptilted  sandstone,  is  about  1,400 
feet  above  Las  Cruces;  the  mesa  itself  at  the  foot  of  the 
mines  being  about  six  hundred  feet  above  the  town,  and 
fifteen  or  sixteen  miles  distant  from  it.  Extending  for  half 
a  mile  or  more  from  the  flanks  of  the  Organ  mountain,  near 
those  mines,  are  interesting  moraines,  or  lines  at  regular 
intervals,  of  deposited  boulders,  chiefly  porphyritic,  the  red 
variety  more  decomposed  than  the  grey.  B.  We  did  not 
personally  examine  any  other  silver  mines;  but  we  received 
specimens  of  argentiferous  galena  from  Pinos  Altos,  Apache 
Pass,  and  Stone  Corral,  all  of  which  silver  lead,  judging  from 
the  blow-pipe  examinations,  would  afford  remunerative  quan- 
tities of  silver,  provided  the  ore  is  as  abundant  as  repre- 
sented. 

"  3.  Copper  mines. 

"A.  Hanover  Copper  Mine. 

"  To  reach  this  region  from  Mesilla  by  way  of  Fort  Cum- 
mings,  the  road  past  the  Miembres  river,  hot  springs,  and 
Santa  Eita,  is  about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles;  but  it  is  only 
ninety  miles  from  Fort  Craig  to  the  Hanover  mines,  by  a 
direct  S.  W.  route  practicable  for  wagons.  The  Hanover 
mines  are  situated  about  6,350  feet  above  the  ocean,  where 
a  syeuetic  granite,  having  large  hexagonal  crystals  of  mica, 
has  elevated  the  carboniferous  limestone  two  hundred  feet 
up  the  west  flank  of  the  mountain;  but  the  openings,  of  which 
there  are  many,  are  near  the  first  appearance  of  the  aqueous 
rock  in  the  narrow  valley,  in  which  also  the  furnace  is  erected. 


14 

The  granitic  range  has  a  strike  W.  of  ]$[".,  and  bringing  the 
limestone  up  in  that  direction,  gives  it  on  the  W.  flank,  a 
~W.  of  S.  dip.  This  axis  is  crossed  by  a  highly  ferruginous 
rock,  sometimes  a  pure  magnetic  iron  ore,  trending  appa- 
rently rather  in  dike  form  E.  of  N".,  and  forming  frequently 
in  places  with  the  adjacent  aqueous  rock,  for  a  considerable 
distance,  immense  masses  cf  breccia.  Near  these  disturbing 
forces  a  sixty-three  feet  shaft  has  been  sunk,  and  various 
tunnels  run,  exposing  extensive  deposits  of  copper,  often 
green  or  blue  carbonate,  sometimes  native  copper  in  the  de- 
composing feldspar  of  the  granite;  occasionally  (especially  at 
the  openings  down  the  valley  from  the  furnace)  as  vitreous 
copper,  sometimes  as  grey  copper.  An  analysis  of  this  mal- 
achite or  green  carbonate  of  copper,  has  been  forwarded  by 
Mr.  Cox  since  the  above  was  written.  The  result  was,  oxide 
of  copper  72.64=58  per  cent,  of  metallic  copper.  The  ore 
occurs  ramifying,  sometimes  for  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  width, 
through  the  decomposing  feldspar,  forms  therein  rich  deposits 
and  extends  vertically  below  any  point  yet  reached.  In  some 
places,  where  the  iron  ore  described  above  intersects,  it  forms 
the  gangue,  but  is  easily  detached  mechanically. 

"  The  smelting,  from  all  that  we  saw  and  could  learn  from 
Mr.  Hinkel,  the  former  proprietor,  now  involves  much  less 
labor  and  expense  than  is  common  in  Europe.  This  gentle- 
man had  studied  metallurgy  in  his  native  country,  Saxony, 
and  had  erected  extensive  works,  which  were  paying  well, 
when  he  was  driven  off  by  the  Indians,  and  compelled  by 
his  extensive  losses  to  sell  out  most  of  his  interest  in  said 
mines.  Much  of  the  machinery  remains  there,  and  the  fur- 
naces are  standing.  He  ran  the  mixed  ores  first  through 
high,  narrow  furnaces,  and  completed  the  work  in  those  of 
a  reverberatory  form,  running  the  metal  into  iron  moulds, 
which  were  procured  at  a  cost  of  six  hundred  dollars,  and 
which  we  saw  still  undisturbed  at  the  time  of  our  visit. 

"  In  Germany  it  was  not  unusual,  some  years  since,  to  roast 
for  many  months,  and  then  to  submit  the  copper  to  at  least 
five  distinct  sm citings;  a  labor  rendered  unnecessary  at  these 
mines  in  consequence  of  the  purity  of  the  ore. 


15 

"  The  copper  thus  shipped  to  the  States  has  commanded, 
ever  since  it  was  tried,  a  ready  market  at  a  price  equal  to  that 
of  the  best  Russia  copper.  It  is  said  to  be  a  trifle  harder  than 
that  of  Santa  Kita,  hence  more  suitable  for  nails,  bolt  heads, 
and  similar  work  in  sheathing  vessels. 

"This  is  probaly  due  to  a  slight  admixture  of  iron,  not 
eliminated  in  the  imperfect  mode  of  smelting  adopted,  until 
better  machinery  was  obtained.  The  necessary  materials 
had  been  purchased,  and  the  improvements  were  in  process 
of  construction,  when  the  Indian  troubles  commenced. 

"  On  the  hills  and  mountains  around  the  Hanover  furnace 
there  is  abundant  timber  for  charcoal  and  fuel;  pines,  pinon, 
some  walnut,  and  a  good  deal  of  oak.  The  sandstone,  already 
mentioned,  is  in  places  suitable  for  furnace  hearthstones;  the 
syenite,  when  porphyritic,  we  observed  to  be  very  durable, 
especially  that  of  a  grey  color,  at  least  as  far  as  we  could 
judge  from  the  weathering;  and  the  limestone  remote  from 
the  locality,  in  which  its  condition  was,  as  already  described, 
highly  metamorphosed,  will  readily  burn  into  lime.  Water 
is  unfailing  from  some  springs,  and  is  in  sufficient  quantity 
for  the  purposes  of  washing  the  ore,  by  constructing  a  short 
race  or  aqueduct  (acequia),  and  thus  obtaining  additional 
force.  Gramma  grass,  somewhat  lower  in  the  valley,  is  of 
the  finest  quality  anywhere  seen  during  our  explorations;  it 
was  over  two  feet  high,  and  would  cut  two  tons  of  hay  to  the 
acre,  when  we  were  there— October  23,  1864. 

"  B.  Santa  Eita  mines. 

"  These  are  situated  on  the  same  range,  a  few  miles  further 
south,  and  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  lower  than  the 
Hanover  furnace.  The  ore  is  of  a  similar  character,  and  has 
been  profitably  worked  for  many  years,  probably  for  two 
centuries,  by  Spaniards  and  Mexicans.  The  native  copper, 
which  is  as  pure  as  that  of  Lake  Superior,  is  washed  out  from 
the  decomposing  feldspar,  and  smelted  with  the  malachite 
and  azurite. 

"Besides  many  tons  of  ore  abandoned  here,  when  the 
workmen  were  driven  off  by  the  Indians,  we  noticed  much 


16 

valuable  machinery,  including  the  latest  improvement  for 
obtaining  the  blast. 

"  It  seems  highly  probable  that  good  copper  ore  could  be 
found  abundantly,  not  only  along  the  entire  distance  between 
Hanover  and  Santa  Rita,  but  also  from  the  indications,  in 
some  of  the  parallel  ridges;  and  even  in  the  prolongation 
of  the  Santa  Rita  range  to  San  Jose,  the  next  which  we  pro- 
ceed to  describe. 

"C.  San  Jose  Mines. 

"  These  are  150  feet  lower  than  the  Santa  Rita  mines,  and 
somewhat  west  of  south  of  them.  The  ore,  however,  is  still 
nearly  of  the  same  character,  and  very  abundant.  It  occurs 
chiefly  where  quartz  veins,  bearing  E.  of  N.,  cut  through 
the  W.  of  !N".  porphyritic  range.  The  malachite  and  azurite 
predominate  here. 

"D.  Jemez  Copper  Mines. 

v  "From  this  locality,  which  is  situated  about  fifty  miles 
\pest  of  Santa  Fe*,  about  1,100  pounds  of  ore  were  obtained 
for  transportation  to  the  States  in  order  to  be  fairly  tested  on 
a  large  scale.  The  ore  is  chiefly  vitreous  copper,  often  coated 
with  malachite.* 

"  Although  snow  had  already  fallen  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent, we  found  time,  after  completing  our  other  work,  to 
visit  this  locality.  We  observed  the  copper  in  sheets  under 
heavy  beds  of  sandstone,  at  an  elevation  of  about  6,000  feet 
above  the  ocean  in  the  northern  part  of  the  canon  of  San 
Diego. 

"  4.  Iron  and  other  metallic  ores. 

"  A.  At  the  Hanover  copper  mines  there  is  an  inexhaust- 
able  supply  of  good  iron  ore,  partly  magnetic,  partly  a  red 
hematite,  apparently  in  a  continuous  ridge,  trending  towards 
a  reported  iron  mountain,  about  fifteen  miles  distant,  which 
has  already  been  mentioned  as  having  been  examined  by 
Captain  "Whitlock.  At  the  Placer  mountain,  twenty-seven 
miles  south  of  Santa  Fe,  we  found  also  a  considerable  amount 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  Mr.  Cox  has  forwarded  the  result  of  his  ex- 
amination of  this  ore,  on  a  small  scale,  while  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
boxes.  The  virteous  copper  afforded  60  per  cent,  of  metallic  copper. 


17 

of  good  iron  ore,  such  as  would  probably  justify  the  erection 
of  a  Catalan  Forge — owners  of  mills  and  others  requiring 
small  jobs,  having  at  present  to  send  to  the  States  for  their 
castings  and  other  heavy  job  work  in  iron.  The  whole 
country  afforded  evidence  of  abundant  deposits  of  this  use- 
ful metal,  but  that  at  the  Placer,  if  sufficiently  abundant,  as 
it  appeared  to  be,  would  prove  especially  valuable  on  account 
of  its  proximity  to  good  anthracite  coal,  only  six  miles  dis- 
tant. That  fuel  would  serve  to  generate  steam  and  give, 
if  desired,  impetus  to  a  forge-hammer  and  other  machinery, 
which  might  be  connected  with  the  iron  works  as  well  as 
to  the  quartz  crushing  and  grinding  apparatus  for  the  gold 
ore.  *  *  * 

"  C.  Kaolin,  or  Decomposed  Feldspar. 

"About  two  miles  in  a  direct  line  southerly  from  the  San 
Jose  copper  mines,  we  found  a  layer  of  beautifully  white*  and 
decomposing  feldspar,  in  the  porphyritic  granite,  sufficient 
to  supply  many  works  for  years  with  the  best  material  for 
porcelain.  The  bed  averages  about  four  feet  in  thickness, 
and  was  traced  laterally  two  hundred  yards  and  upwards. 
Apparently  it  extends  entirely  through  the  mountain,  and 
the  decomposition  is  probably  the  result  of  metamorphism. 
This  kaolin  much  resembles  the  deposit  in  Arkansas,  fully 
described  in  the  State  Geological  Report.  Other  localities 
were  observed  in  which  the  feldspar  of  the  granitic  rocks  had 
thoroughly  decomposed,  but  none  were  so  purely  white  as 
the  above. 

"  The  climate  is  so  unsurpassed  that  if  there  were  uo  other 
inducement  to  immigration  into  that  territory,  many  who,  as 
soldiers  or  travellers,  have  once  experienced  its  delights, 
would  scarcely  be  satisfied  elsewhere  afterwards.  The  light, 
dry,  electrical  atmosphere,  gives  a  zest  to  mere  existence, 
irrespective  of  any  other  source  of  enjoyment,  seldom  if 
ever  experienced,  I  think,  in  any  but  climates  of  a  similar 
character,  such  as  Mexico  and  southern  California. 

"  The  country  needs  only  a  railroad  to  develop  its  capa- 
bilities. That  could,  for  the  most  part  of  the  route,  be  con- 
structed at  a  very  low  cost  per  mile,  as  there  would  be  very 

2 


18 

little  cutting  and  filling,  scarcely  any  important  culverts  or 
bridges  until  we  reach  the  mountains.  Even  then,  by  adopt- 
ing the  Cimarron  route,  the  Raton  Pass  is  avoided,  and  on 
arriving  at  the  dividing  ridge  we  can  surmount  the  pass  by 
way  of  Pigion's  ranch  along  a  gradual  ascent  from  near  the 
Pecos  of  not  over  600  feet  in  ten  miles.  Usually  this  slope 
could  be  obtained  without  much  blasting,  as  far  as  I  could 
judge  by  a  passing  survey,  but  should  this  or  even  tunnel- 
ing be  rendered  necessary,  the  granitic  rocks  of  that  sum- 
mit are  by  no  means  very  refractory.  The  further  route, 
either  by  the  35th  or  32d  parallel,  is  well  known  from  the 
Pacific  railroad  surveys,  to  encounter  no  serious  difficulties. 
By  having  it  connect  near  Bent's  old  fort,  with  the  northern 
route  passing  near  Pike's  Peak,  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains 
between  Santa  F^  and  Albuquerque,  and  pursue  either  of 
the  parallels  above  indicated,  the  railroad  would  pass  through 
the  rich  mineral  regions  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and 
reach  the  Pacific  amid,  the  rich  cotton  and  vine  portions  of 
California. 

"The  amount  of  energy,  enterprise,  and  wealth,  which 
would  thus  be  developed,  can  scarcely  be  over  estimated. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  abundant  supply  of 
coal  which  could  be  obtained  along  this  route ;  and  by  fol- 
lowing the  river  courses  from  bend  to  bend,  which  would 
require  no  great  deviation  from  a  direct  line,  the  supply  of 
water  would  be  equally  favorable. 

"The  climate,  the  immense  mineral  wealth  and  facility  for 
making  money,  the  chances  for  speculation  and  the  good 
profit  by  taking  Government  contracts,  by  freighting,  mer- 
chandising, ranching,  owning  stock,  cultivating  vineyards, 
and  the  like,  will  no  doubt  continue  to  make  this  territory, 
as  it  already  is,  a  favorite  resort  for  those  desiring  to  better 
their  condition  in  health  or  wealth." 

Since  the  report  was  published,  from  which  the  foregoing 
extracts  have  been  made,  a  very  great  number  of  new  veins 
of  gold  and  silver  bearing  quartz  have  been  discovered. 
During  the  summer  of  1867,  General  James  H.  Carleton,  of 
the  army,  who  has  resided  many  years  in  New  Mexico,  vis- 


19 

ited  some  of  the  mineral  regions  in  that  Territory,  and  wrote 
a  letter  for  publication,  which  gives  the  results  of  his  obser- 
vation. Here  is  the  letter : 

"  PINOS  ALTOS,  NEW  MEXICO. 
"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Santa  Fe  Gazette: 

"  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  your  readers  to  know 
something  about  the  town  of  Pinos  Altos,  in  the  southwest- 
ern portion  of  the  Territory;  a  town  that  is  now  attracting 
no  little  attention  from  the  reports  which  are  circulating  that 
it  is  the  central  point  of  a  region  very  rich  in  the  precious 
metals.  As  I  have  recently  made  a  visit  to  Pinos  Altos,  it 
affords  me  pleasure  to  give  you  for  publication  the  results  of 
my  observations  and  inquiries  with  reference  to  the  resources 
of  that  place,  and  of  the  country  in  its  immediate  vicinity. 
On  the  15th  of  last  month,  Hon.  Charles  P.  Clever,  His  Ex- 
cellency Robert  B.  Mitchell,  Captain  John  Pratt,  the  Mar- 
shal of  New  Mexico,  and  myself,  left  the  valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande  at  Fort  Selden,  N.  M.,  where  there  is  a  fine  ferry, 
for  Fort  Cummings,  N.  M.,  distant,  say,  fifty-five  miles. 

"From  Fort  Cummings  to  the  Miembres  it  is  eighteen  and 
three-fourth  miles.  Here  the  road  for  Arizona  bears  off  to 
left,  while  that  for  Fort  Bayard  and  Pinos  Altos  keeps  on- 
ward, gradually  inclining  to  the  right  from  a  west  to  nearly 
a  northwest  course.  At  about  six  miles  from  the  Miembres 
we  came  to  what  is  known  as  the  Hot  Spring.  This  spring 
is  of  a  very  high  temperature,  sufficiently  so  to  cook  an  egg 
if  it  be  I'^t  down  into  the  water  where  it  first  comes  up  out 
of  the  earth.  The  water  seems  to  be  highly  charged  with 
lime,  has  some  iron  in  it,  and,  to  a  small  degree,  some  salt. 
There  may  be  other  substances  in  it,  but  none  are  abundant 
enough  to  render  the  water  unpalatable  when  it  has  become 
cold.  The  lime  which  the  water  has  held  in  solution  by  an 
excess  of  carbonic  acid,  and  by  the  heat,  has  been  precipi- 
tated around  the  spring  in  such  a  quantity,  in  the  way  of  tra- 
vertine, as  to  form  a  mound  some  twenty-five  feet  higher  than 
the  surrounding  plain.  The  ascent  to  the  summit  of  this 
mound  is  very  gradual.  For  many  ages,  doubtless,  the  water 


20 

has  ceased  boiling  .over  the  summit,  and  the  travertine  be- 
coming more  or  less  decayed,  has  given  way  here  and  there, 
and  allowed  it  to  find  small  channels  through  to  the  outer 
sides  of  the  slope  below  the  top.  These  channels  have  thus 
drained  the  spring  until  the  surface  of  the  water  has  gone 
down,  say,  five  or  six  feet.  It  still  has  a  depth  of  ten  or 
twelve  feet,  and  a  diameter  of,  say,  fifteen  feet  or  more. 
There  is  water  enough  running  in  all  directions  from  this 
spring,  if  carefully  husbanded,  to  irrigate  quite  a  farm.  Some 
nice  bathing-rooms  have  been  erected  on  the  northern  slope 
of  the  mound ;  and  here,  also,  is  quite  an  extensive  adobe 
residence,  with  fine  rooms  for  those  who  come  for  the  benefit 
of  the  water.  Here,  too,  corn  and  hay  can  be  got,  and  good 
meals,  with  a  plenty  of  fresh  butter  and  milk,  A  gentleman 
named  Mastin  keeps  this  place,  and  is  making  here  other 
improvements  than  those  mentioned.  It  is  said  that  the  In- 
dians never  come  here  for  water,  and  that  they  avoid  it  as 
bad  medicine.  The  people  living  here  have  considerable 
stock,  but  do  not  seem  to  fear  that  it  will  be  stolen  from  the 
corrals.  No  watch  is  kept  over  this  stock  during  the  night. 
A  mile  beyond  the  hot  spring  is  an  abundance  of  fine,  clear, 
cold  water.  Thence  to  Fort  Bayard,  say  seventeen  miles, 
the  road  is  somewhat  rough  in  places  from  loose  stones,  but 
as  a  general  thing  it  is  most  excellent.  The  scenery  on  either 
hand,  and  in  front,  is  of  the  most  charming  description,  and 
the  air,  at  you  gradually  ascend  toward  the  mountains  to  the 
northwest,  becomes  cool  and  invigorating.  One  could  hardly 
imagine  a  more  delightful  drive  than  this,  from  the  hot 
spring  to  Fort  Bayard. 

"  Fort  Bayard,  as  yet,  is  only  an  assemblage  of  log  houses. 
It  has  a  capacity  for  some  three  or  four  companies.  It  was 
intended  to  build  the  fort  of  a  more  durable  material.  Some 
stone  foundations,  for  the  permanent  quarters,  have  already 
been  commenced.  A  post  of  four  companies  of  cavalry  and 
two  of  infantry,  at  this  place,  would  be  strong  enough  soon 
to  drive  off  or  destroy  the  marauding  Apaches,  which  now 
are  so  great  an  obstacle  to  the  filling  up  by  farmers,  stock- 
growers,  and  miners  of  this  important  part  of  New  Mexico. 


21 

"  This  post  is  about  half  way  between  the  Santa  Rita  cop- 
per mines  and  the  town  of  Pinos  Altos,  by  roads  you  are 
obliged  to  travel  if  you  are  in  a  carriage.  By  an  air-line,  the 
copper  mines  are  nearest.  As  the  crow  flies,  Pinos  Altos  is 
about  eight  miles  west  of  Fort  Bayard,  and  the  Santa  Rita 
mines  are  about  five  miles  eastwardly  from  the  post.  The 
Hanover  copper  mine  is  about  seven  miles  in  an  air-line,  in 
a  northerly  direction  from  the  post.  From  the  summit  of 
the  ridge  east  of  the  copper  mines,  and  say,  three  miles  dis- 
tant, to  eight  or  ten  miles  west  of  Pinos  Altos,  there  is  a  belt 
of  country,  say  thirty  miles  long,  from  jST.  E.  to  S.  "W.,  by 
ten  miles  broad,  that  is  known  to  be  filled  with  rich  veins  of 
gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  iron,  and  other  metals  in  combina- 
tion. Outside  of  this  tract  it  is  believed  there  is  an  abund- 
ance of  mines  just  as  valuable;  but  that  part  of  the  country 
has  not  been  so  carefully  examined  as  the  tract  here  described. 
The  whole  of  this  country  is  well  wooded  and  covered  with 
fine  pasturage,  and  there  are  several  streams  of  permanent 
water  upon  it.  During  the  rainy  season,  and  for  some  weeks 
after  it  is  over,  nearly  all  of  the  arroyos  have  more  or  less  of 
water  in  them. 

"  On  the  19th  of  June,  we  went  to  Pinos  Altos,  and  staid 
there  until  the  22d.  We  were  hospitably  entertained  by 
the  citizens,  and  they  took  every  pains  to  give  us  all  possible 
information  in  relation  to  the  town  and  the  mines.  The  his- 
tory of  the  place  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words. 

"  In  May,  1860,  a  Colonel  Snively  and  a  party  of  California 
miners  came  to  this  region  and  discovered  gold  near  the 
present  site  of  the  town  of  Pinos  Altos,  in  what  is  known 
as  Rich  Gulch.  In  June  of  that  year  people  commenced 
coming,  to  work  in  placers.  In  December,  1860,  there  were, 
say,  fifteen  hundred  here  from  Chihuahua,  Sonora,  Texas,  and 
from  California.  They,  at  that  time,  averaged  to  the  hand 
some  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  per  day.  Other  gulches  were 
discovered  during  the  fall  and  summer  of  1860.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1860,  the  first  quartz  mine  was  discovered  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Mastin,  with  a  party  of  prospecters.  This  vein  is 
called  the  Pacific  mine ;  it  runs  through  the  hill  or  rnoun- 


22 

tain,  rather,  which  constitutes  the  f  divide'  of  the  continent, 
and  has  been  worked  on  each  slope  of  that  mountain. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1861,  this  mine  was  bought  by  Mr.  Virgil 
Mastiri,  a  brother  of  the  discoverer,  and  it  was  successfully 
worked  during  the  rest  of  that  year.  During  1861,  the 
Apache  Indians  made  formidable  raids  on  the  stock  of  the 
miners,  and  nearly  stripped  them  of  the  means  to  prosecute 
their  labors.  A  severe  battle  was  fought  between  the  miners 
and  a  band  of  this  tribe,  under  Mangas  Coloradas  and  Ca- 
chees.  The  Indians  numbered  about  five  hundred  warriors, 
and  came  directly  into  the  town  now  known  as  Pinos  Altos, 
which  the  miners  had  established  in  a  point  central  to  the 
scene  of  their  labors.  This  was  on  the  27th  of  September, 
1861.  Captain  Thomas  Mastin,  who  commanded  a  company 
of  volunteers,  was  killed  in  this  fight.  The  Indians  were 
driven  off,  but  the  impression  they  had  made  on  the  minds 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  was  so  great  as  to  induce  the 
most  of  the  latter  to  go  away.  The  breaking  out  of  the  re- 
bellion also  had  the  effect  to  induce  many  to  leave.  A  few 
only  held  on,  and  amongst  them  was,  Mr.  Virgil  Mastin, 
who  foresaw  the  future  development  of  the  great  wealth  and 
promise  of  this  region. 

"Not  much  was  done  in  discovering  or  in  testing  the 
merits  of  new  leads  from  1861  to  1864,  when  still  another 
attempt  was  made  to  work  the  Pacific  mine,  and  a  few  other 
mines  which  Mr.  Virgil  Mastin  had  meantime  discovered. 
These  latter  lodes  are  known  as  the  Atlantic,  Adriatic,  and 
Bear  Creek.  The  work  commenced  on  these  had  been 
prosecuted  but  a  short  time,  when  the  Apaches  again  came 
and  stripped  the  miners  of  their  stock.  This  caused  another 
suspension  of  nearly  all  further  labors  until  1866,  when  Mr. 
Virgil  Mastin,  Mr.  Samuel  J.  Jones,  Mr.  Joseph  Reynolds, 
Mr.  J.  Edgar  Griggs,  and  Mr.  Jacob  Amberg,  organized  a 
company,  under  the  name  and  style  of  '  The  Pinos  Altos 
Mining  Company  J  under  charter  granted  by  the  Legislature 
of  New  Mexico.  This  company  has  three  lodes,  viz,  the 
Pacific,  Atlantic,  and  Bear  Creek.  Its  stock  consists  of  four 
hundred  shares,  at  five  hundred  dollars  par  value  per  share, 


23 

which  stock  is  owned  as  follows :  Virgil  Mastin  has  one 
hundred  and  twenty;  Samuel  J.  Jones  has  sixty;  Jacob 
Arnberg  has  one  hundred;  Joseph  Reynolds  has  sixty,  and 
J.  Edgar  Griggs  has  sixty.  NOUQ  of  the  shares  are  for  sale. 
The  company  has  now  a  steam  mill  in  the  town  of  Pinos 
Altos,  which  drives  three  batteries  of  five  stamps  each. 
When  all  three  batteries  are  kept  at  work  night  and  day,  they 
crush  twenty  tons  of  ore  in  twenty-four  hours.  The  aver- 
age yield  of  ore  extracted  from  the  Pacific  mine  is  from 
eighty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  ton.  Ore  can  be 
selected  from  this  lead  which  will  yield  one  thousand  dollars 
per  ton.  This  mill  is  not,  as  yet,  crushing  ore  taken  from 
the  Atlantic  and  Bear  Creek  lodes;  but  ore  taken  from 
these  has  been  reduced  in  arastras,  and  has  yielded  as  much 
as  ore  taken  from  the  Pacific.  The  Atlantic  lies  east  of 
Pinos  Altos  one  and  a  half  miles;  the  Bear  Creek  half  a 
mile  to  the  south  of  the  town,  and  the  Pacific  one  and  a  half 
miles  to  the  west.  On  this  latter  lead  or  lode  a  tunnel  has 
already  been  drifted  seven  hundred  and  thirteen  feet.  Its 
eastern  terminus  is  on  the  Atlantic  slope  of  the  mountain. 
Its  western  terminus,  when  the  tunnel  is  completed,  will  de- 
bouch upon  the  Pacific  slope.  Then  the  tunnel  will  be  six- 
teen hundred  feet  long.  Midway  it  passes  under  the  crest 
of  the  mountain,  where  an  air-shaft  is  run  down,  which  will 
enter  the  tunnel  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  feet  below  the 
summit.  This  tunnel  is  six  and  a  half  feet  high,  and  is  five 
feet  wide.  A  tram-way  is  laid  down  upon  its  floor,  and  on 
this  is  a  small  car,  which  carries  out  the  ore  as  fast  as  it  is 
mined  by  the  workmen  drifting  in  the  tunnel.  It  costs,  to 
extract  ore  from  the  mine,  not  to  exceed  six  dollars  per  ton. 
It  costs,  delivered  at  the  mill  in  town,  eight  dollars  and  fifty 
cents.  This  covers  all  expenses,,  including  extracting,  haul- 
ing, &c.,  &c.  The  actual  expense  of  crushing  this  ore  is 
about  three  dollars  per  ton. 

"  The  Pacific  vein  is  from  three  to  eleven  feet  wide,  and 
is  inexhaustable.  It  contains  gold,  silver,  and,  in  places,  a 
small  proportion  of  copper.  The  company  has  nearly  com- 
pleted furnaces  for  the  smelting  of  the  silver  ores  taken  from 


24 

this  mine.  These  will  yield  in  dollars,  per  ton,  more  than 
the  gold  ores  heretofore  alluded  to.  The  cost  of  smelting 
siver  ores  per  ton  will  be  twenty-five  per  cent,  less  than  the 
cost  of  crushing  the  gold  ores. 

"There  are  now,  within  a  radius  of  six  miles  from  the 
centre  of  the  town  of  Pinos  Altos,  over  six  hundred  lodes 
of  gold  and  silver,  as  I  have  been  informed  by  good  au- 
thority. Several  of  them  prospect  equal  to  those  mentioned. 
Among  them  are  '  The  Bear  Creek  Extension,'  owned  by 
Captain  William  L.  Rynerson  and  company;  'The  Santa 
Juliana/  owned  by  'The  Bay  State  Pinos  Altos  Mining 
Company ;'  '  The  Montezuma  Silver  Mine,'  owned  by  Langs- 
ton  and  company;  'The  Langston  Mine,'  (silver)  owned  by 
Langston  and  company;  'The  Turkey  Creek,'  '  Weirt,'  and 
'Aztec,'  owned  by  Mastin,  Reynolds  and  company ;  '  The 
Santo  Domingo  Pinos  Altos  silver  and  lead  mine ;'  '  The 
Perdido  Silver  Mine,'  owned  by  Davis,  Mastin  and  com- 
pany; 'The  Forest  Tree'  silver  mine,  owned  by  Long 
Brothers  and  company;  'Summit,'  gold  and  silver  lode, 
'Mantic'  and  'Indigo,'  owned  by  Rynerson,  Stone  and  com- 
pany; 'The  Aztec  E~o.  2,'  owned  by  Reed,  Jones  and  com- 
pany; and  'The  Mechanics,'  and  'The  Central,'  owned  by 
Owens  and  company ;  '  The  Extension  to  Montezuma '  and 
'The  Extension  to  the  Langston,'  have  been  opened  up  and 
are  owned  by  Howard,  Ward  and  company;  'The  Variety 
Lode '  is  owned  by  William  Kness  and  company.  Mr. 
Houston  has  also  a  very  rich  gold  lead,  and  St.  Vrain  and 
company  a  lead  rich  in  silver  and  lead.  Bates,  Cooper  and 
company  have  also  a  fine  lead  near  town,  called  '  The  Buck- 
eye.' All  of  the  gentlemen  named,  and  others  who  have 
found  and  perfected  their  titles  to  leads  at  and  near  Pinos 
Altos,  deserve  great  credit  for  their  energy  and  persever- 
ance under  the  most  discouraging  circumstances.  E"ow,  in 
all  the  gulches,  or  ravines,  which  come  down  from  the  slopes 
of  the  neighboring  mountains,  the  earth  is  rich  in  gold,  and, 
in  the  rainy  season,  will  yield  to  the  hand  per  day  an  average 
of  from  five  to  six  dollars. 

"  The  population  in  October,  1866,  at  the  time  of  renew- 


25 

ing  operations  by  the  Pinos  Altos  Mining  Company,  did  not 
exceed  sixty  miners.  They  now  number  from  eight  hun- 
dred to  one  thousand,  and  have  erected  and  are  now  build- 
ing some  very  comfortable  dwelling-houses  and  some  com- 
modious stores  at  Pinos  Altos.  Here  provisions  can  be 
bought  at  reasonable  rates.  For  example :  superfine  flour 
can  be  bought  at  eleven  dollars  per  sack  of  one  hundred 
pounds ;  and  bacon,  hams,  sugar,  coffee,  &c.,  at  proportionate 
prices.  Most  all  articles  required  by  miners,  such  as  cloth- 
ing, tools,  blasting-powder,  and  fuse,  &c.,&c.,  can  be  purchased 
at  moderate  prices.  The  country  is  well  timbered,  and  the 
climate  unsurpassed  in  salubrity  by  any  within  our  boun- 
daries between  the  two  oceans.  Pinos  Altos  is  something 
over  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level.  It  is  built  ex- 
actly on  the  summit  of  the  great  chain  of  mountains  divid- 
ing the  waters  falling  into  the  Atlantic  from  those  falling 
into  the  Pacific.  As  the  town  increases  in  size,  it  will  be 
built  down  either  slope.  It  is  eight  miles  from  Fort  Bay- 
ard ;  thirty  miles  from  the  Miembres  Hot  Springs ;  thirty- 
six  miles  from  Miembres  river;  thirteen  miles  from  the  Santa 
Hita  copper  mines;  from  Mesilla,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  miles ;  from  Fort  Selden,  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles ;  from  old  Fort  West,  on  the  Gila  river,  thirty 
miles ;  and  from  Tucson,  Arizona,  one  hundred  and  seven. 

"  Freight  can  be  hauled  to  Pinos  Altos  from  Mesilla,  Las 
Cruces,  and  Fort  Selden,  for  two  and  a-half  cents  per  pound. 

"  The  information  I  have  here  given  has  been  gathered 
from  personal  observation,  and  from  the  statements  of  those 
who  live  at  Pinos  Altos,  and  who  are  persons  of  credit.  It 
is  my  opinion,  that  before  six  years  shall  have  passed  away, 
there  will  be  a  town  at  or  near  Pinos  Altos  larger  than  the 
city  of  Denver.  It  may  be  doubted  if  there  is  on  the  known 
surface  of  the  earth  an  equal  number  of  square  miles  on 
which  may  be  found  as  many  as  rich  and  extensive  veins  of 
the  useful,  as  well  as  of  the  precious  metals,  as  at  and  near 
Pinos  Altos,  New  Mexico.  As  soon  as  a  few  mills  demonstrate 
the  real  value  of  even  a  few  of  the  mines,  capital  will  be  sure 
to  drift  in  that  direction  to  develop  them  all.  It  is  possible 


26 

that  mills  for  crushing  ores,  if  erected  in  large  nurrfbers,  will, 
for  convenience  of  water,  be  built  down  on  Bear  creek,  or 
even  at  the  nearest  point  upon  the  Gila ;  but  the  ores  are  so 
rich  they  will  pay  the  transportation  upon  a  railroad  to  the 
Gila  river.  The  whole  distance  is  a  '  down '  grade.  It  re- 
quires no  stretch  of  the  imagination,  nor  any  effort  of  fancy, 
to  contemplate  a  time,  close  at  hand,  when  the  smokes  of 
numerous  furnaces  and  the  noise  of  stamp-mills  will  be  seen 
and  heard  throughout  all  this  region.  The  elements  of 
wealth  and  material  prosperity  are  surely  there,  and  just  so 
soon  as  those  who  hold  capital  can  become  convinced  by 
actual  observation,  or  by  proof  gathered  from  the  experience 
of  others,  that  money  invested  in  quartz-mills,  in  smelting 
furnaces,  in  foundries,  and  in  machine  shops,  will  yield  a 
larger  per  cent.,  profit  than  when  loaned  on  good  securities, 
if  put  into  other  branches  of  trade  or  industry  elsewhere,  just 
that  soon  will  it  float  to  Pinos  Altos,  and  ur«;e  forward  the 

~  o 

development  of  that  region  with  an  energy  that  will  yet  sur- 
prise even  those  who  have  been  hopeful  of  the  mineral  wealth 
of  New  Mexico. 

"It  was  near  the  end  of  June  when  we  returned  to  the  Rio 
Grande.  At  Fort  Selden,  at  Las  Cruces,  and  at  Mesilla,  as 
well  as  wherever  we  stopped  on  our  way  back  to  Santa  Fe, 
we  met  with  the  greatest  kindness  and  the  most  generous 
hospitality.  One  could  hardly  imagine  a  more  delightful  or 
interesting  journey  than  that  would  be  to  a  stranger  going 
from  Santa  Fe  to  Las  Cruces  and  Mesilla,  and  thence  to  the 
mineral  region  at  Pinos  Altos. 

"  The  Old  Placers. 

"Four  years  ago,  Governor  Connelly,  Col.  T.  Howe  Watts, 
Major  DeForrest,  and  myself,  paid  a  visit  to  the  mines  known 
as  the  Old  Placer  mines,  twenty-seven  miles  from  Santa  Fe, 
New  Mexico.  We  then,  after  actual  inspection,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  mines  themselves  were  very  rich,  and 
could  be  developed  with  profit;  but  we  were  also  as  well 
convinced  that  the  management  of  the  mines  owned  by  the 
Mexican  Mining  Company'  was  intrusted  to  unskill- 


27 

and  incompetent  heads.  A  want  of  system,  and  a  want  of 
an  intelligent  direction  of  even  what  little  work  was  then 
doing,  it  was  painful  to  contemplate.  We  all  became  fully 
satisfied  that  the  company  was  wasting  much  valuable  time, 
and  throwing  away  a  good  deal  of  money  to  no  purpose. 
Within  a  year,  however,  all  this  has  been  changed.  Now, 
under  a  skillful  superintendent,  who  devotes  all  his  time  and 
his  ability  to  demonstrate  the  truth  that  the  mines  which  the 
company  had  opened  are  mines  that  will  yield  a  large  profit 
on  the  capital  invested,  the  aspect  of  the  affairs  of  that  com- 
pany has  completely  changed,  and  the  stock  is  gradually  ac- 
quiring a  firm  and  healthy  tone  in  the  market.  Within  the 
last  few  days  I  have  repeated  my  visit  to  the  Old  Placers  in 
company  with  Mr.  James  L.  Johnson,  one  of  the  leading 
merchants  of  New  Mexico,  and  the  results  of  my  observa- 
tions and  calculations  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  people 
of  the  Territory. 

"  With  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  mines  already  opened  by 
the  New  Mexican  Mining  Company,  it  may  be  fairly  stated 
that  they  are  inexhaustible.  This  company,  owns  a  tract  of 
mineral  lands  ten  miles  square;  within  this  area  the  out-crop- 
pings  of  mines  not  developed  at  all  are  abundant  and  are  of 
the  most  promising  character.  Rising  out  of  the  centre  of 
this  property  are  what  are  known  as  the  Gold  mountains. 
In  the  lapse  of  ages  these  mountains  have  been  grooved  by 
the  action  of  the  elements  and  by  the  mechanical  abrasion 
of  boulders  forced  downward  by  ancient  torrents,  until  an 
inclined  plain  or  talus,  is  formed  all  around  their  base,  which 
is  rich  in  what  is  known  as  placer  gold  broken  off  from  the 
upper  crests  of  gold  bearing  ledges  which  must  still  have 
existence  beneath  the  present  surface.  Some  of  these  ledges 
have  been  discovered,  as  before  stated,  by  their  out-crop- 
pings,  and  amongst  these  are  those  now  operated  upon  by 
the  company.  Many  are  now  hidden  by  soil.  These  veins 
have  a  general  direction  from  north  to  south.  Now,  it  is 
therefore  reasonable  to  conclude,  from  the  evidence  given  of 
immense  wealth  in  gold  in  the  talus  or  inclined  plain  just  de- 
scribed, that  eventually  when  these  mountains  are  tunnelled 


28 

from  east  to  west,  that  these  lodes  will  all  be  cut — when  they 
can  be  successfully  attacked  far  below  the  surface,  and  drifted 
in  upon  along  their  entire  course.  There  can  likewise  be 
no  doubt,  that  water  can  be  brought  from  the  Pecos  river 
and  used  as  water  is  used  in  California  to  wash,  by  hose,  the 
most  of  this  auriferous  soil  and  drift  which  lies  around  the 
base  of  the  mountains.  In  doing  this  the  summits  of  many 
new  lodes  will  be  uncovered;  and  when  the  hydraulic  opera- 
tions no  longer  remunerate — the  water  will  come  there  to  be 
used  in  the  far  more  profitable  and  steady  business  of  crush- 
ing ores  from  the  quartz  leads  thus  brought  to  light,  and 
from  the  quartz  leads  already  known  which  lie  above  the 
level  to  be  reached  by  this  water. 

"  These  ideas  are  briefly  given  to  show  what  capital  and 
skill  will  without  a  doubt  eventually  accomplish.  For  the 
present,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  give  some  statistics 
showing  results  to  be  obtained  from  the  veins  already  opened. 

"  The  cost  of  an  eighteen  horse-power  steam  engine  with 
fifteen  stamps  complete,  put  up  upon  the  ground,  will  be 
$12,000. 

"  The  cost  of  a  suitable  building,  to  cover  this  machinery, 
&c.,  will  be,  say,  not  over  $3,000;  total  $15,000. 

"  Those  who  put  up  the  mill  should  have  $5,000  or  $10,000 
in  goods  to  sell  to  hands  and  to  people  who  come  to  wash 
placer  gold.  This  contemplates  a  capital  to  start  on,  of 
from  $20,000  to  $25,000. 

"  To  run  your  mill  night  and  day,  you  want  two  engineers, 
whose  wages  will  be  four  dollars  a  day,  each,  including  their 
board.  This  amounts  to  $2,920  per  annum.  You  want 
two  feeders  at  two  and  a  half  dollars  a  day,  each,  including 
board,  which,  per  annum,  is  equal  to  $1,825.  You  want 
two  plate  tenders,  whose  wages,  each,  per  day  will  be  two 
and  a  half  dollars,  including  board ;  this  is  equal  to  $1,460 
per  annum.  These  plate  tenders  wheel  in  quartz  and  shovel 
the  tailings  from  the  vats.  You  want  three  cords  of  wood 
as  fuel  for  each  day  of  twenty-four  hours  run.  This  will 
cost,  delivered,  $7  50  per  day,  or,  $2,737  50  per  annum. 
The  engineers  handle  the  wood  and  keep  up  the  fires,  so 


29 

that  no  firemen  need  be  employed.  The  cost  of  Jard,  tamp- 
ing, candles,  &c.,  &c.,  will  be,  say,  $2  50  per  day.  This  is 
equal  per  annum  to  $912  50.  The  cost  of  fifty  pounds  of 
quicksilver,  which  would  be  enough  to  last  a  year,  would  be 
$75,  including  losses.  The  cost  of  extracting  ore  is  $5  per 
ton.  The  freight  on  the  same,  delivered  at  the  mill  is  $2 
per  ton.  The  mill  will  crush  nine  tons  every  twenty-four 
hours.  This  is  equal  to  three  thousand  two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  tons  per  annum ;  which,  at  $7  a  ton,  delivered  at 
the  mill,  is  equal  to  $22,995.  The  wear  and  tear  of  ma- 
chinery and  mill  is  reckoned  at  five  per  cent,  per  annum.  I 
am  told  by  engineers  that  this  is  a  very  liberal  allowance. 
In  one  year  this  will  amount  to  $750. 
"  Recapitulation  of  annual  cost. 

Wages  of  two  engineers —     $2,920  00 

"Wages  of  two  feeders- 1,825  00 

"Wages  of  two  plate  tenders 1,460  00 

Fuel..— 2,737  50 

Lard,  tamping,  candles,  &c.,  &c 912  50 

Quicksilver 75  00 

Cost  of  ore  at  mill — 22,995  00 

Interest  on  cost  of  mill  at  6  per  cent 900  00 

Wear  and  tear  of  mill-  750  00 


Total  cost $34,575  00 

"  The  following  is  the  result  of  five  small  runs  through 
the  mill  of  the  ^ew  Mexican  Mining  Company,  made  by 
Dr.  Michael  Steck,  the  present  superintendent : 

22  tons  yielded  per  ton $20  62 

16  tons  yielded  per  ton 36  00 

16  tons  yielded  per  ton 22  00 

6  tons  yielded  per  ton 33  33J 

3  tons  yielded  per  ton   42  00 

"That  is  to  say,  sixty-three  tons  produced  $1,707  64;  or 
an  average  of  $27  10  per  ton.  Much  of  this  ore  was  refuse 
ore,  which  was  crushed  mainly  to  get  it  out  of  the  way. 
The  regular  yield  of  average  samples  of  ore,  at  the  lowest 
estimate,  will  be  $30  per  ton.  This,  in  a  year's  run,  Sun- 


30 

days  included,  would  give  $98,550.  Now  throw  off  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  to  cover  salary  of  superintendent,  delays  for 
the  Sabbath,  and  delays  for  repairs,  and  for  unforseen  con- 
tingencies, and  you  throw  off  $24,637  50,  which  will  leave 
$73,912  50.  Now  deduct  from  this,  expenses  of  running 
the  mill  for  a  year,  as  is  shown  by  the  recapitulation  of 
annual  costs,  which  is  $34,575,  and  you  have  clear  profit, 
$39,337  50.  This  will  give  on  the  investment  for  one  year, 
on  cost  of  mill,  which  is  $15,000 — two  hundred  and  sixt}'-two 
per  cent.  For  it  must  be  recollected  that  all  other  expenses 
have  already  been  deducted.  This  does  not  include  the 
profits  on  the  sale  of  goods.  Two  other  mills  of  the  same 
capacity  can  be  erected  at  two  other  springs  in  the  hollow 
where  the  present  mill  now  stands,  and  one  mill  can  be 
erected  near  what  is  known  as  the  *  Cunningham  mine." 
This  should  be  done,  when  the  clear  income  of  the  company 
will  be  increased  to  $157,350,  which  is  four  times  the  sum. 
cleared  by  one  mill.  This  does  not  include  the  profit  of  the 
store,  and  yet  this  gives  six  per  cent,  per  annum  on  a  capital 
of  $2,622,500.  By  having  the  '  cleaning  up '  in  each  mill 
occur  on  a  different  day  from  the  cleaning  up  in  any  other 
mill,  one  superintendent  could  direct  the  business  transacted 
by  all  four  mills.  The  ore  is  inexhaustible,  even  in  the 
mines  already  opened.  Other  mines  on  this  ten  miles  square 
can  be  opened,  and  there  are  known  springs  where  still  other 
mills  can  be  erected.  By  a  system  of  tanks  and  reservoirs 
to  collect  and  hold  surface  water,  any  number  of  mills  can 
be  run,  and  all  this  without  making  any  calculations  for 
water  coming  from  the  Pecos.  When  there  is  so  much 
material  to  be  worked  upon  with  profit,  to  have  but  one 
mill,  is  the  same  as  if  you  had  a  boundless  supply  of  cotton, 
and  worked  upon  it  with  a  factory  running  fifteen  spindles. 
"  I  have  taken  some  little  pains  to  prove  to  you  by  figures, 
that  here  within  sight  of  the  city  of  Santa  Fe,  there  is  a 
fund  of  wealth  which  bespeaks  well  for  the  future  prosperity 
of  this  part  of  New  Mexico.  I  have  written  nothing  of  the 
New  Placers,  which  are  known  to  be  equally  as  rich  and  ex- 
tensive ;  nor  have  I  alluded  to  the  auriferous  region  in  the 


31 

mountains  to  the  west  of  Mr.  Maxwell's  ranch,  on  the 
Cimarron  river.  Should  I  have  tirae  to  visit  and  properly 
examine  these  two  last  named  placers,  it  will  give  me  pleas- 
ure to  let  you  know  the  result  of  my  observation. 

"When  the  vast  mineral,  pastoral,  and  even  agricultural 
resources  of  New  Mexico  are  well  understood,  it  will  require 
no  prophet  to  foresee  that  she  will,  one  day,  not  far  distant, 
occupy  a  proud  position  as  one  of  the  States  of  the  great 
Republic. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"JAMES  H.  CARLETON. 

After  having  written  this  letter,  General  Carleton  visited 
what  are  known  as  the  New  Placers,  south  of  the  Old  Placer 
described  in  the  foregoing  letter.  What  is  called  the  San 
Pedro  grant  includes  the  mineral  region  known  as  the  New 
Placer.  It  contains  forty  thousand  acres,  and  lies  about  forty 
miles  south  of  the  city  of  Santa  Fe.  It  is  accessible  by  ex- 
cellent roads.  Mining  at  the  New  Placer,  we  know,  was  car- 
ried on  as  early  as  1776.  I  give  an  extract  from  a  letter 
descriptive  of  the  New  Placer  : 

"METROPOLITAN  HOTEL, 
"Washington,  D.  C.,  October  18,  1867. 
"  GENERAL  :     *  .       *  I  visited  the  New  Placers  in 

November,  1865,  and  again  in  August  of  this  year.  Since 
my  first  visit  several  new  lodes  have  been  discovered,  and  I 
was  informed  by  prospectors  that  in  nearly  every  part  of  the 
grant — which  comprises,  as  I  learn,  some  forty  thousand 
acres — lodes  of  gold-bearing  quartz  and  of  argentiferous  ga- 
lena, as  well  as  veins  of  lead  and  of  copper  of  a  rich  charac- 
ter, can  be  found.  I  saw  some  exceedingly  rich  copper  ore 
from  a  newly  discovered  vein  on  this  property.  I  have  seen 
tested  some  quartz  taken  from  recently  discovered  lodes  at 
the  New  Placers,  and  found  it  to  be  rich  in  gold.  You  may 
recollect  that  I  sent  some  specimens  which  I  took  from  the 
Ramirez  mine  to  Colonel  Carey,  and  that  I  wrote  to  him  a 
letter  about  that  particular  mine.  I  have  seen  quartz  crushed 


32 

at  the  Old  Placers,  and  in  July,  of  this  year,  I  made  some  cal- 
culations as  to  its  value,  which  calculations  appeared  in  the 
Santa  Fe  Gazette  on  the  27th  of  that  month.  E"ow  it  is  ray 
opinion  that  the  Ramirez  mine  is  even  richer,  per  ton,  than 
the  Ortiz  mine,  from  which  that  quartz  was  taken.  *  *  * 
On  the  south  side  of  the  Old  Placer  mountains,  arid  close  to 
the  line  of  the  New  Placer,  some  gold  mines  have  been  found, 
which,  even  at  the  surface,  produced  fifty- three  dollars  per 
ton.  Mr.  Hutchinson,  who  is  developing  these  mines,  in- 
formed me  that  over  the  line,  and  within  the  "boundaries  of 
the  New  Placer,  he  had  found  new  lodes  of  auriferous  quartz 
just  as  rich.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  the  opinion 
that  within  our  whole  country,  so  far  as  my  observation  has 
extended,  a  piece  of  ground  of  the  size  of  the  New  Placers 
cannot  be  found  which  contains  more  or  richer  veins  of  the 
precious  metals  than  it  does;  and  I  would  recommend  that 
good  mills  be  at  once  erected  for  their  extraction.  As  soon 
as  the  Pacific  railroad  is  built,  and  the  surveys  indicate  that 
it  will  run  immediately  by  the  New  Placers,  it  is  impossible 
to  conjecture  how  greatly  that  grant  will  be  increased  in 
value.  The  grant,  as  you  are  aware,  is  uncommonly  well 
wooded,  and  even  for  grazing  purposes,  is  equal  to  any  in 
New  Mexico. 

"  I  am,  general,  very  truly  yours, 

"JAMES  H.  CAKLETOK 
"  General  JOHN  C.  MCFERRAN, 

"  U.  S.  Army,  Washington,  D.  C." 

About  the  middle  of  July,  1867,  some  gold  fields  were 
discovered  on  the  head  waters  of  the  little  Cimarron,  be- 
tween Maxwell's  ranch  and  the  Taos  valley;  say  thirty  miles 
west  of  Mr.  Maxwell's.  These  promise  to  yield  placer  gold 
in  great  abundance.  A  party  of  gentlemen  visited  these 
fields  in  the  month  of  August  last.  One  of  them  wrote  to 
me:  "The  placers  were  just  beginning  to  be  opened.  The 
miners  had  but  few  tools,  and  were  experiencing  great  diffi- 
culty in  getting  lumber  to  make  sluices.  One  company  of 
five  men  with  a  sluice  ninety  feet  long  were  taking  out  seven 


33 

hundred  dollars  in  gold  per  week,  others  were  just  com- 
mencing, and  were  realizing  less,  but  a  fair  remuneration, 
considering  the  poor  appliances  they  had  with  which  to  work. 
By  October  1867,  the  company  of  five  above  alluded  to  were 
taking  out  one  hundred  dollars  apiece  per  day,"  *  *  * 
"  Of  course  all  do  not  do  as  well,  but  experiments  made  by 
prospectors  show  that  the  fields  are  many  miles  in  extent." 
One  company  is  now  constructing  a  ditch  or  canal  to  bring 
water  upon  portions  of  these  fields.  This  ditch  will  cost 
$100,000,  and  yet  the  parties  interested  in  its  construction 
are  certain  soon  to  be  reimbursed  for  all  their  out-lay. 

A  town  has  been  laid  out  near  the  principal  washings;  it 
is  called  "Virginia  City,"  and  will  without  doubt  soon  be  a 
place  of  much  importance.  There  is  hardly  a  day  that  new 
discoveries  of  gold  are  not  made  in  that  portion  of  New 
Mexico." 

If  Congress  will  only  give  some  help  to  these  hard  work- 
ing men,  by  constructing  a  good  wagon  road  from  Maxwell's 
ranch  to  Virginia  city,  and  it  can  be  done  for  the  small  sum 
of  thirty  or  forty  thousand  dollars,  all  kinds  of  supplies  can 
be  readily  got  in  at  cheap  rates;  when  more  and  more  poor 
people  will  flock  thither,  and  will  soon  give  back  to  the 
Government,  in  return,  the  gold  now  so  much  needed. 

This  is  no  chimera.  We  know  its  reality.  All  we  want  is 
a  little  help  here  and  there,  until  we  in  New  Mexico  can  get 
a  start,  then  the  country  will  see  that  we  can  help  others  as 
well  as  ourselves. 

The  placers,  or  gold  fields,  near  Virginia  city  have  become 
rich  from  the  disintregation  of  gold-bearing  quartz  veins  in 
the  mountains  east,  and  in  the  range  of  mountains  west  of 
the  extensive  valley  in  which  they  lie.  This  valley  is  called 
the  Moreno  pass,  and  the  fields  are  called  the  Morefio  mines. 
Many  of  the  lodes  whence  this  gold  has  come  have  not  yet 
been  uncovered ;  but  that  they  exist  near  these  fields  is  as  cer- 
tain as  that  a  spring  exists  whence  a  rivulet  flows.  All  along 
the  cordilleras  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  extending  from  the 
Moreno  mines  northward  to  Pike's  Peak,  in  Colorado;  on 
each  slope  of  them  are  found  placer  diggings.  On  the  Eio 


34 

Grande  side  pf  the  mountains  at  the  Hondo,  near  Taos;  at 
the  Culebra,-near  Fort  Garland;  at  the  Saugre  de  Christo, 
near  the  pass  of  that  name,  gold  has  been  found  in  paying 
quantites.  On  the  east  side,  as  well,  prospectors  have  found 
good  placers  from  the  Raton  mountains  to  the  Rincon  de 
Tecolote. 

Near  the  Moreno  mines,  high  up  a  neighboring  mountain, 
is  one  of  the  richest  copper  mines  in  the  world.  A  company 
consisting  of  Mr.  William  H.  Moore,  Lucian  B.  Maxwell, 
"William  Kroenig,  Nicholas  S.  Davis,  and  others,  are  drifting 
through  the  mountain  far  below  the  outcropping  of  this  lode. 
They  have  already  run  a  gallery  six  feet  wide  by  seven  feet 
high,  through  the  solid  rock,  to  a  distance  of  over  two  hun- 
dred feet;  and  expect,  within  another  hundred  feet,  to  strike 
the  main  vein,  when  countless  tons  of  the  ore  can  be  dropped 
down  from  above,  and  be  easily  run  out  on  a  tram-way  and 
taken  to  furnaces  for  smelting. 

In  the  Tejeras  canon,  near  Albuquerque,  several  very  rich 
leads  of  copper  have  been  discovered,  and  a  company  has 
procured  from  the  Territorial  Legislature  a  charter  for  work- 
ing them.  The  ore  from  these  mines  is  of  the  very  best 
quality,  whilst  water  and  fuel  in  abundance,  for  necessary 
smelting  purposes,  are  just  at  hand. 

The  Nacimieiito  Mining  Company,  also  chartered  by  the 
Legislature,  has  an  abundance  of  copper  ores,  yielding  from 
sixty-three  to  seventy-one  per  cent.  These  mines  are  at  the 
head- waters  of  the  Puerco  river,  near  Abiquieu.  Gold  is  also 
found  near  Embudo,  and  here  there  is  a  vein  of  silver  ore  of 
great  promise.  It  is  called  the  Junction  Lead.  Near  this 
point  are  extensive  lodes  of  iron;  and  cinnabar  is  found  in 
large  quantities  near  Las  Truches,  on  the  trail  from  Santa 
Fe  to  Taos. 

In  the  Sierra  de  los  Ladrones,  near  Limitar,  as  well  as  in 
the  San  Andres  mountains,  north  of  the  San  Augustine  pass, 
silver  lodes  of  great  size,  are  known  to  exist.  So,  too,  in  the 
Sacramento  mountains,  south  of  Fort  Stanton,  gold,  silver, 
and  lead,  have  been  found ;  but,  owing  to  the  hostilities  of 


35 

the  Mescalero  Apaches,  prospectors  have  not  yet  been  able 
satisfactorily  to  explore  the  lodes. 

In  the  Zuni  mountains,  near  Fort  Wingate,  and  in  many 
places  in  the  old  Navajoe  country,  gold  and  silver  have  been 
discovered ;  and,  from  surface  indications,  it  is  believed  that 
very  rich  lodes  are  there. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  map  that,  in  nearly 
every  quarter  of  that  extensive  Territory,  the  mineral  wealth 
heretofore  hidden  beneath  the  earth's  surface  has  been 
tracked  to  its  bed.  And  now  the  people  of  New  Mexico, 
with  as  much  propriety  as  those  in  California,  can  honestly 
and  earnestly  exclaim  "we  have  found  it." 

We  now  come  to  the  inquiry :  "  Why  do  not  the  people 
of  New  Mexico  themselves  develop  their  gold  and  silver  and 
copper  leads?"  Let  me  answer. 

We  have  in  that  Territory  a  population  of,  say,  in  round 
numbers,  one  hundred  thousand  souls.  Of  these,  say  fifteen 
thousand  are  Pueblo  Indians  and  Indians  on  a  reservation. 
The  mass  of  the  people  are  very  poor.  The  most  of  the  pros- 
pectors are  expert  in  the  business  of  prospecing  and  are  mainly 
discharged  soldiers  who  belonged  to  the  California  volunteers. 
During  their  term  of  service,  whilst  on  campaigns  against 
Indians,  and  whilst  marching  from  one  point  to  another  of 
the  Territory,  they  saw  indications  of  its  riches.  So,  when 
the  time  came  for  their  discharge,  a  great  many  of  them  pre- 
ferred to  remain  in  New  Mexico  rather  than  to  return  to 
California.  It  was  then  that  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  the 
prospecting  of  the  country  in  search  of  its  hidden  mines. 
The  results  have  startled  with  their  greatness  the  most  san- 
guine and  enthusiastic  believer  that  gold  and  silver  abounded 
in  large  quantities  in  that  Territory. 

Let  us  take  the  labors  of  one  prospector  as  an  example. 
With  what  little  money  he  had  saved  up  in  his  military  ser- 
vice, the  soldier  has  bought  a  few  tools,  and,  perhaps,  a 
mule,  or  pony,  a  rifle,  and  a  sack  of  flour,  some  bacon,  sugar, 
coffee,  and  salt.  In  portions  of  the  country,  where  the  In- 
dians were  very  bad,  several  of  these  prospectors  would 
join  together  in  their  searches;  when  there  was  but  little 


or  no  danger,  they  would  sally  forth  alone,  camping  out 
wherever  night  overtook  them.  A  lode  is  found  and  the 
miner  at  once  sinks  a  hole  in  the  quartz  to  procure  speci- 
mens to  test  its  value.  These  specimens  are  crushed  by 
pounding  with  a  hammer  until  they  are  as  fine  as  flour. 
This  quartz-flour  is  then  washed  in  a  large  horn  spoon,  the 
particles  of  gold  being  the  heaviest,  gradually  go  to  the  bot- 
tom, whilst  the  particles  of  quartz  are  allowed  to  pass  off 
over  the  edge  of  the  spoon.  Shortly  nothing  is  left  but  the 
gold.  "We  will  suppose  that  the  vein  has  proved  to  be  rich. 
Then  the  law  requires  that  certain  steps  should  be  taken — a 
certain  amount  of  labor  be  peformed — certain  surveys  be 
made,  and,  finally,  if  no  one  contests  the  miner's  right  to 
his  discovery,  he  can  get  a  patent  from  the  Government,  and 
the  mine  is  his,  as  much  as  a  farmer's  farm  is  his  when  he 
has  got  his  deed  for  it.  I  may  say,  in  passing,  that  new  leg- 
islation should  be  had  on  this  subject,  simplifying  the  mode 
by  which  a  poor  man  can  get  his  patent,  and  making  it  shorter 
as  to  time,  and  cheaper  as  to  money. 

The  prospector  has  now  found  his  mine,  and  has  got  his 
title  to  it.  It  may  yield  at  the  rate  of  twenty,  thirty,  forty, 
fifty,  eighty,  or  more  dollars  to  the  ton,  and  be  inexhaustible 
in  extent.  He  is  a  rich  man,  one  might  suppose.  Not  so; 
he  is  still  poor,  and  has  to  go  off  somewhere  and  labor  even 
for  his  daily  bread.  Now,  the  example  here  given  is  that 
of  hundreds  of  miners  who  have  found  hundreds  of  mines 
they  know  to  be  good.  It  takes  capital  to  buy  and  bring 
machinery  to  crush  this  quartz  and  save  the  gold.  But  why 
do  not  people  with  capital  do  this  ?  Because,  as  yet,  the 
country  is  not  made  accessible  by  railroad.  Wealthy  men 
will  not  make  the  journey  unless  they  can  travel  rapidly 
and  with  ease  and  security;  and  the  poor  miner,  like  the 
Pueblo  Indian,  who  turns  to  the  east  every  morning,  hoping 
to  see,  coming  thence,  the  divine  form  of  Montezuma,  so 
does  he  turn  his  eyes  in  the  same  direction,  and  pray  for  the 
day  when  the  rich  man  with  his  money  will  come  to  be  a 
partner  with  the  poor  man  with  his  mine. 

If  a  private  citizen  owned  a  fine  lot  of  trees  worth  a  mil- 


37 

lion  of  dollars  if  gotten  to  market,  and  it  would  cost  him 
five  thousand  dollars  to  make  a  road  suitable  to  the  getting 
of  them  out  of  the  forest,  so  that  he  could  make  sale  of 
them,  would  he  not  even  borrow  money,  if  necessary,  to  raise 
this  five  thousand  dollars  ?  Certainly  he  would.  Well,  now, 
the  United  States  have  locked  up,  in  these  quartz  veins  in 
New  Mexico,  millions  of  the  precious  metals.  Every  man 
to-day  is  paying  thirty  or  forty  cents  on  the  dollar  merely  for 
the  want  of  these  metals.  Think  of  that  sum !  Yet  the 
nation  does  not  seem  to  be  alive  to  its  interests  as  the  private 
citizen  would  be  to  his;  and  goes  on,  and  on,  and  on,  for- 
getting the  hardship  to  especially  the  poor  who  for  lack  of 
gold,  with  scanty  means,  have  to  pay  high  prices  for  the 
necessaries  of  life;  forgetting  the  enterprising  yet  poor 
miner,  he  who  has  here  been  figured,  waiting  for  his  Monte- 
zurna ;  forgetting  the  employment  which  it  would  give  to 
many  of  its  brave  defenders  who  in  vain  now  seek  labor; 
forgetting  that  at  once  when  a  railroad  runs  through  New 
Mexico,  a  hundred  dollars  will  come  back  where  one  dollar 
has  been  invested,  and  yet  the  logic  which  would  convince  a 
private  citizen  what  he  should  do  to  increase  his  wealth, 
ought  to  hold  good,  if  starting  from  the  same  premises,  with 
the  country  at  large. 

I  make  some  extracts  from  a  letter  written  from  the  office 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Kailway,  which  touch  directly  upon  the 
matter  under  consideration. 

"  Our  preliminary  surveys  of  the  present  summer  have 
discovered  a  favorable  line  to  this  point,  whose  highest  ele- 
vation at  the  head  of  Canon  Blanco,  in  latitude  35°  north,  60 
miles  east  of  Albuquerque,  is  7,136  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  By  these  surveys,  necessarily  preliminary  and  less 
minute  than  those  of  definite  location,  a  practicable  route  for 
railroad  construction  was  found,  avoiding  heavy  gradients 
and  expensive  grading,  and  requiring  the  maximum  grade 
permitted  by  law  for  the  Pacific  railroads  at  only  two  or 
three  short  intervals,  not  exceeding  twenty-five  miles  in  all. 
The  distance  from  Pond  creek  to  Albuquerque,  by  the  pre- 
liminary survey,  is  464  miles,  or  from  the  initial  point  of  our 


38 

road  on  the  Missouri  river  to  the  Rio  Grande  at  Albuquer- 
que, 872  miles,  which  may  be  reduced  upon  the  definite 
location  of  the  road.  From  Albuquerque,  surveys,  by  the 
35th  parallel  and  the  Gila  river,  through  Arizona  and  thence 
to  San  Francisco,  are  now  in  progress,  and  favorable  accounts 
of  the  routes  traversed  have  been  received  from  the  engineer- 
ing parties.  It  is  expected  that  these  surveys  will  reach  San 
Francisco  early  in  February,  this  company  will  be  in  full 
possession  of  the  topographical  features  of  the  country  ex- 
amined by  its  engineers. 

"  The  route  across  the  divide  of  the  waters  of  the  Smoky 
hill  and  Arkansas  rivers,  is  chiefly  valuable  for  grazing  pur- 
poses; but,  upon  reaching  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas,  vast 
regions  are  opened  for  settlement,  which,  for  varied  pro- 
ductions— embracing  all  the  cereals,  fruit  and  grapes — are 
nowhere  surpassed.  The  salubrity  and  healthfulness  of  the 
climate,  and  the  abundance  of  coal  and  timber,  make  it  the 
most  agreeable  unocupied  country  in  the  United  States;  and 
when  to  these  advantages  are  added  the  certainty  of  the  pro- 
duction of  the  precious  metals,  in  amounts  hitherto  unknown, 
no  region  can  be  more  desirable,  or  more  profitably  developed ; 
and  so  the  country  alternates  all  the  way  to  the  Eio  Grande, 
no  portion  valueless,  but  all  adapted  to  grazing  or  agricul- 
ture; and,  as  regards  the  mineral  wealth  along  the  route 
thither,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  the  amount  is  only  limited 
by  the  labor  bestowed  in  its  development. 

"  Having  thus  briefly  designated  the  route  upon  which  the 
company  requests  extension  of  subsidy,  I  will  ask  your  atten- 
tion to  a  concise  enumeration  of  the  resources  of  the  country 
to  be  traversed,  with  their  present  known  development,  and 
the  probability  of  their  immense  increase  when  quick  and 
cheap  rail  transportation  is  afforded.  Crossing  the  Raton 
mountain,  and  entering  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  our 
geologist  discovered  in  the  single  coal  deposit  near  Maxwell's 
hacienda,  fifty  miles  northeast  of  Fort  Union,  veins  of  bitu- 
minous coal  extending  for  a  range  of  sixty  miles,  one  of 
which,  on  Yermijo  canon,  was  ten  feet  in  thickness,  and  was 
examined  for  an  area  of  ten  miles  square.  This  coal,  when 


39 

analyzed  by  Messrs  Williams  and  Moss,  analytical  chemists 
of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  yielded  53.90  per  cent,  of 
fixed  carbon  alone,  and  produced  437.6  Ibs.  of  illuminating 
gas  per  ton  of  2,000  Ibs.,  equivalent  to  7439.2  cubic  feet. 
These  chemists  report  this  coal  to  compare  very  favorably 
with  any  of  those  regarded  as  the  best  for  generating  steam, 
and  with  the  majority  of  those  used  for  manufacturing  illu- 
minating gas.  Anthracite  coal  is  found  in  the  Placer  moun- 
tain, near  Santa  Fe;  bituminous  coal  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  near  Albuquerque;  and  very  extensive  coal  beds 
farther  south  on  that  river  near  Fort  Craig.  So  successful 
have  been  our  researches  for  coal  supplies,  that  our  chief 
engineer  characterizes  the  New  Mexican  coal  fields  as  'the 
great  natural  depot  of  fuel,  not  only  for  this  Pacific  railway, 
but  for  the  country  contiguous  to  it,  for,  at  least,  as  far  east 
as  Fort  Harker,  Kansas.'  And  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
our  discoveries  of  the  past  summer  alone  have  eliminated  the 
fuel  question  from  the  obstacles  or  embarrassments  of  a  rail- 
way across  the  continent,  and  made  its  ample  fuel  supply  no 
longer  problematical. 

"  The  great  expense  of  transporting  the  heavier  and  more 
effective  quartz-crushing  machinery  across  the  eight  hundred 
miles  of  wagon  roads  between  the  mines  and  railway,  have 
heretofore  nearly  restricted  New  Mexican  mining  to  placer 
working;  the  exception  has  been  the  cheaper,  though  less 
effective,  modes  of  quartz  milling.  In  this  rude  and  unpro- 
ductive manner,  the  mines  of  New  Mexico  have  been  worked 
for  more  than  two  centuries,  adding  large  supplies  to  the 
demands  of  commerce.  The  ores  of  that  Territory  are  of  a 
most  favorable  character  for  easy  and  cheap  reduction,  and 
are  inexhaustible.  The  company  has  the  most  conclusive 
evidence  of  this  fact.  It  is  asserted  by  those  who  have  had 
good  means  of  acquiring  the  knowledge,  that  the  mines  of 
Arizona  are  richer,  and,  with  railroad  facilities,  would  be 
more  productive  than  any  and  all  yet  wrought  upon  the  con- 
tinent. The  explorations  of  the  company  have  not  progressed 
sufficiently  to  enable  it  to  verify  the  assertion  to  the  fullest 


40 

extent,  but,  so  far  as  it  has  received  information  thereon,  the 
mines  are  astonishingly  rich. 

"An  abundance  of  native  Mexican  and  Pueblo  labor  ex- 
ists in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  which  can  be  made  avail- 
able immediately  upon  the  passage  of  the  bill,  and  by  ming- 
ling with  our  own  labor  under  proper  direction,  a  healthy 
industry  will  be  developed,  and  the  native  artisans  instructed, 
Christianized  and  prepared  for  useful  citizenship.  That  this 
labor  can  be  maintained  without  requiring  supplies  from  the 
States,  and  is  adequate  to  building  at  least  five  hundred  miles 
through  these  Territories,  were  considerations  which  strongly 
recommended  this  projected  route  to  the  company.  And 
with  the  labor  indigenous  to  the  soil,  the  presence  of  iron  ore 
and  the  coal  with  which  it  may  be  wrought,  must  necessarily 
induce  the  erection  of  factories  and  furnaces  in  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona,  where  now  only  the  miner's  ranche  is  seen. 
Capital  will  find  useful  and  lucrative  employment,  and  every 
branch  of  industry,  co-operative  with  the  work  of  construc- 
tion, speedy  development,  peopling  the  present  wilderness 
in  a  day.  And  as  these  mines  of  gold  and  silver  become 
known  and  successfully  worked,  how  vast  will  be  their  in- 
fluence upon  the  national  currency,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
creation  of  other  wealth  from  trade  and  commerce.  The 
company  believes  that  the  construction  of  its  road  would 
give  security  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Territories  of  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  against  the  Indians,  the  necessity  for 
which,  as  regards  those  recently  located  south  of  the  Arkan- 
sas, is  apparent,  while  the  proposed  line  of  road  seems  to  it 
admirably  adapted  to  that  purpose." 

Then,  aside  from  the  impetus  which  a  railroad  would  give 
to  the  development  of  the  minerals  of  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona,  a  thought  comes  in  here,  that  the  red  man  must 
give  way  before  the  iron-horse,  as  the  army  of  Assyria 
perished  when  breathed  upon  by  the  angel  of  death ;  and 
when  once  the  Indian  ceases  his  depredations,  the  flocks  and 
herds  of  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Texas,  and  Arizona  will 
become  so  numerous  as  to  afford  mutton  and  beef  to  the 
poor  all  over  the  country  at  vastly  cheaper  rates.  So  you 


41 

will  increase  the  value  of  a  day's  labor,  by  making  money 
more  valuable,  when  compared  with  the  price  of  food.  This 
may  be  an  exception  to  some  of  the  rules  of  political  econ- 
omy, but  it  is  true  nevertheless. 

I  quote  from  a  very  interesting  paper  on  the  Union  Pacific 
Railway,  the  following  remarks  about  cattle  raised  in  Texas 
and  driven  up  to  a  station  on  that  road  :  Bancroft  Library 

"The  cattle  here  are  grazing  all  over  this  magnificent 
valley  under  the  care  of  herders.  The  drovers  usually  herd 
after  arrival  from  thirty  to  sixty  days  to  recruit  the  animals 
before  selling.  And  such  pasturage  !  The  steer  that  would 
not  fat  here  visibly  would  have  starved  to  death  in  the  gar- 
den of  Eden.  But  just  look  at  them  as  they  wade  in  the 
grass,  and  see  their  Fulton  market  roundness  and  glossiness. 
With  difficulty  I  credit  the  statement  that  there  are  25,000 
head  here  now,  waiting  shipment.  Yet  here  they  are,  and 
10,000  more  are  known  to  be  on  the  way  here,  and  full 
50,000  will  have  arrived  at  the  close  of  the  season.  Four  times 
as  many  would  have  been  driven  here  as  have  been,  if  the 
stock-men  of  the  southwest  had  known  that  there  was  a  safe 
and  sure  way  out  from  the  lock-up  which  the  war  first,  and 
toll-demanding  ruffians  afterward,  had  established.  So  say 
the  most  intelligent  of  these  Texan  drovers,  and  they  also  say 
that  200,000  head  of  beeves  will  surely  be  here  next  year  for 
sale  and  shipment.  Now  mark:  These  animals,  *  beeves,' 
can  be  bought  by  thousands  in  Texas  at  from  $8  to  $10  per 
head  in  gold,  or  $12  to  $14  in  currency.  They  can  be  driven 
to  Abilene  at  an  additional  cost  of  not  over  $2  a  head,  in 
from  five  to  eight  weeks'  time.  They  can  be  shipped  from 
here  to  St.  Louis  at  $100  a  car  load,  and  to  Chicago  for  $150 
a  car.  Joseph  McCoy  tells  me  that  they  can  be  afforded  in 
Chicago  at  four  cents  gross,  with  satisfactory  margins  to 
drovers,  shippers,  and  railroads.  Surely  the  butchers  of 
more  than  one  city  and  State  have  got  to  come  down,  and 
surely  there  was  grateful  reason  in  the  toast  the  Union  Pacific 
railway,  eastern  division,  as  the  cheapener  of  beef  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States." 

These  remarks  would  have  the  same  force  when  applied 


42 

to  the  flocks  and  herds  of  New  Mexico.  "He  is  a  benefac- 
tor who  makes  one  blade  of  grass  grow  where  none  grew 
before."  So,  too,  that  government  is  far  seeing  which  shapes 
its  policy  so  that  its  poor  can  have  a  plenty  of  good,  whole- 
some food  at  cheap  rates ;  which  for  ten  cents  will  put  into 
the  kettle  of  the  poor  man  two  pounds  of  beef,  when  for  the 
same  sum  he  could  before  only  find  one  pound.  The  gov- 
ernment which  can  do  this,  and  does  do  it,  is  as  a  benign 
mother  providing  for  her  children.  The  statesmen  who 
lose  sight  of  such  matters  now  will  neither  benefit  the  com- 
munity at  large  nor  write  their  names  in  capitals  on  the 
scroll,  where  already  have  been  inscribed  the  names  of  those 
whom  the  people  venerate. 

Pertinent  to  this  matter,  I  find  a  very  interesting  letter  in 
the  Cincinnati  Times,  of  the  8th  instant.  It  was  written  by 
Mr.  Edgar  Conkling,  and  it  gives  nie  pleasure  here  to  re- 
produce many  of  Mr.  Conklings  conclusive  arguments  : 

"  CINCINNATI,  January  6,  1868. 

"  MR.  EDITOR  :  The  very  general  reference  by  the  press  of 
our  country  to  the  suffering  condition  of  our  'working  men 
and  women'  from  want  of  employment,  arouses  our  sympa- 
thies and  warrants  the  serious  consideration  of  our  manufac- 
turers, business  men,  and  all  good  citizens,  how  to  restore 
our  national  industry  to  a  state  of  prosperity?  How  shall 
we  materially  increase  the  consumption  of  the  products  of 
American  labor,  as  well  as  protect  them  from  foreign  pro- 
ducts? It  is  encouraging  to  know  that  Congress  appreciates 
such  a  deplorable  condition  of  our  most  important  interests, 
and  is  giving  some  evidence  of  adopting  a  financial  policy 
that  will  encourage  capitalists  to  engage  in  the  construction 
of  railroads  from  important  commercial  and  manufacturing 
cities,  through  sections  of  country  warranting  speedy  and 
profitable  returns. 

u  But  the  disturbance  of  the  national  industry  is  too  gen- 
eral to  be  materially  affected  by  mere  local  projects,  while  it 
is  admitted  that,  in  many  branches,  our  manufacturing  facil- 
ities of  production  are  greater  than  our  country  can  consume; 


43 

hence  the  loss  in  such  investments,  while  our  mechanics  and 
laboring  people  are  being  demoralized  and  suffering  for  the 
necessaries  of  life. 

"  In  a  great  measure,  this  state  of  things  is  the  result  of 
the  recent  rebellion,  and  protracted  reconstruction.  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  our  happy  and  well-to-do  i  working 
men'  left  their  occupations  to  maintain  the  Government, 
while  others  were  employed  in  manufacturing  war  materials, 
and  thus  our  national  industry  was  generally  disturbed. 

"  "No  government  on  earth  can  so  readily  restore  its  na- 
tional industry  to  prosperity  as  this.  None  were  ever  under 
greater  obligations  to  its  citizens.  No  subjects  more  faithful, 
or  worthy  of  needed  aid.  No  reason  exists  for  protracting  this 
state  of  affairs,  unless  from  lack  of  statesmanship  and  interest 
in  our  servants  in  Congress  assembled. 

"  Our  Government  is  possessed  of  an  undeveloped  terri- 
tory, unsurpassed  for  climate  and  latent  wealth,  which,  on 
being  opened  by  national  highways,  will  reach  and  mature 
a  Pacific  commerce  much  greater  than  all  our  Atlantic  com- 
merce. 

"  It  has  enterprising  capitalists,  desirous  and  ready  to  im- 
prove that  territory,  and  make  it  productive  of  taxes,  soon 
exceeding  all  the  aid  loaned  by  the.  Government.  Ordina- 
narily,  it  is  difficult  to  enlist  capitalists  in  such  public  works, 
and  it  is  fortunate  for  our  Government,  at  the  present  time, 
that  such  foreseeing  the  great  and  certain  benefits  that  must 
speedily  result  to  themselves,  the  Government,  and  the  peo- 
ple, are  willing  to  risk  their  means,  credit,  and  reputation. 

"  They  simply  ask  the  Government  to  loan  them,  well 
secured,  not  exceeding  one-third  the  cost  of  such  roads, 
making  that  territory  worth  twenty  fold  its  present  value, 
while  giving  the  Government  cheaper  facilities  of  governing 
and  transportation. 

"  Such  aid  by  the  Government  is  the  only  practicable  and 
legitimate  method  of  securing  such  facilities  of  transporta- 
tion, and  creating  and  controlling  the  Pacific  commerce. 

"  Those  distant  agricultural  lands  are  worthless,  only  as 
they  are  connected  by  railroads  with  the  mines ;  with  cheap 


44 

food  and  transportation  for  miners,  the  increased  products 
of  the  mines  of  the  precious  metals  will  keep  pace  with  our 
growing  wealth  and  commercial  wants,  and  warrant  a  safe 
return  to  specie  payments.  But  there  are  large  sections  of 
rich  mineral  lands  destitute  of  fuel  and  water,  and  hence 
cannot  have  reduction  facilities,  that  will  be  dependent  on 
shipping  their  ores,  hy  railroads,  for  reduction,  itself  creat- 
ing a  large  revenue  to  the  railroads,  while  redeeming  the 
wealth  of  such  sections,  otherwise  worthless. 

"  The  advantages  claimed  are  worthy  of  consideration  in 
the  most  prosperous  times.  But  in  view  of  our  national 
obligations  to  our  workingmen  and  their  condition,  and  the 
depression  of  our  manufacturing  interests,  and  the  necessity 
of  making  that  territory  share  in  our  taxes  and  payment  of 
our  public  debt,  there  should  be  no  hesitancy  on  the  part  of 
Congress  to  promote  our  National  interests.  It  should  be 
done  in  view  of  reciprocating  the  obligations  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  a  people  that  maintained  it  when  assailed  by  traitors, 
even  if,  in  spending  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars  there 
were  no  other  returns  but  gratefulness  for  an  act  of  justice. 

"Never  was  there  so  much  of  necessity  for  a  mutual  union 
of  labor  and  capital.  Both  are  suffering  for  want  of  that 
union.  Mere  demagogues  will  seek  to  prevent  it,  but  work- 
ingmen's  logic  is  sharpened  from  the  want  of  food,  and  they 
will  readily  discover  the  motives  of  those  seeking  their  votes. 

"  Our  territory  and  national  wants,  as  well  as  our  Pacific 
commerce,  need  the  three  Pacific  railroads — North,  Central, 
and  Southern — and  their  healthful  competing  influence. 

"  The  three  trunk  lines  will  cost,  at  least,  $450,000,000, 
single  track,  and  not  exceeding  one-third  of  that  amount  is 
asked  as  a  loan  of  the  Government  in  its  bonds,  secured  by 
the  whole,  as  the  route  progresses.  So  far  as  the  roads  have 
now  progressed,  the  Government  has  profited  beyond  the  aid 
loaned,  while  the  companies  are  doing  a  business  warrant- 
ing their  ability  to  meet  the  interest  and  debt  as  it  matures. 

"But  if  the  l penny-wise  and  pound-foolish'  idea  must 
prevail,  that  the  Government  can't  afford  to  increase  its  in- 
debtedness for  such  purposes  and  returns,  Senator  Ramsey's 


45 

proposition  is  worthy  of  consideration,  of  asking  Congress 
to  guarantee  the  interest  of  five  per  cent,  on  the  stock  or 
bonds  of  the  railroad  companies,  to  the  amount  of  $20,000, 
per  mile  for  a  limited  time,  which,  on  2,000  miles  west  of 
Lake  Superior,  would  be  a  guarantee  of  five  per  cent,  on 
$40,000,000,  or  only  $2,000,000  per  annum,  the  company 
meeting  the  interest  from  sales  of  its  lands,  business  and 
services  for  the  Government. 

"This  form  of  aid  would  enable  that  company  to  borrow 
the  needed  funds,  while  the  use  of  that  road  to  the  Govern- 
ment would  be  more  than  equal  to  such  interest,  to  say 
nothing  of  advanced  value  of  the  territory  and  our  com- 
merce. 

"  The  aid  can,  and  should  be  afforded,  in  some  shape. 

"Hundreds  of  thousands  of  our  'workingmen'  will  thus 
be  benefitted  in  various  ways.  Some  will  be  engaged  in 
making  the  road  beds,  buildings,  &c.,  and  others  in  making 
the  construction  and  materials,  and  running  machinery  for 
transporting,  &c.  But  all  this  is  but  the  beginning  of  larger 
outlays  to  which  the  Government  is  not  asked  to  contribute. 
The  whole  must  be  kept  in  repair.  Double  tracks  and 
branch  roads,  increased  machinery,  &c.,  all  exceeding  first 
outlays,  in  a  few  years.  Cities,  towns,  farms,  mines,  mills, 
&c.,  are  but  results,  and  will  create  a  greater  outlay,  than 
cost  of  the  railroads.  This  vast  increased  consumption  of 
products  of  Ajnerican  labor,  will  tend  greatly  to  equalize 
and  restore  to  prosperity  our  national  industry,  greatly  in- 
creasing our  national  wealth,  and  ability  to  support  the 
Government  and  pay  its  debt.  If  this  is  all  true,  is  it  not 
the  interest  and  the  duty  of  all  citizens  to  urge  on  Congress 
immediate  action  ? 

"If  the  measure  succeeds  satisfactory  to  capitalists,  con- 
tracts for  all  that  is  needed  will  speedily  follow,  materially 
affecting  our  general  interests." 

A  volume  could  be  written  showing  the  truth  of  these 
remarks ;  and  not  one  line  to  prove  them  to  be  fallacies.  What- 
ever other  roads  may  be  built,  the  laws  of  climate  will  make 
that  which  should  run  through  New  Mexico  the  most  agree* 


46 

able  to  the  traveller  and  the  most  certain  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  trade.  It  requires  but  little  forecast,  and  study  of 
the  commercial  necessities  of  the  world,  to  see  very  nearly 
where  the  great  arteries  of  railroad  communication  must 
pulsate  across  our  continent.  There  can  be  no  question  but 
that  one  line  must  eventually  run  westward  from  Memphis, 
to  San  Diego,  California,  or  to  a  porton  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia, which  latter,  if  we  cannot  acquire  it  by  purchase,  we 
can  have  access  to  it  by  the  comity  of  a  sister  republic. 
That  line  will  run  across  the  rich  mineral  region  now  rapidly 
developing  in  the  southern  portion  of  New  Mexico.  Nor  can 
there  be  a  doubt,  that  another  line  will  run  somewhere  near 
the  35th  parallel  of  latitude.  To  connect  these  two  by  a  track 
in  the  valley  of  the  Eio  Grande  will  be  found  not  only  to  be 
profitable,  but  necessary.  Here  then  you  have  an  outline  of 
a  railroad  system  in  this  great  territory,  an  outline  that  will 
be  filled  in  by  other  roads,  to  be  projected  by  more  local  in- 
terests. And  the  heavy  trains,  freighted  with  the  costly  pro- 
ducts of  China,  Japan,  and  Hiudostan,  can  be  shot  along 
these  roads  with  no  obstruction  from  ice  and  snow.  Then 
will  come  that  proud  day  for  New  Mexico,  so  often  predicted 
and  now  so  near  realization.  In  room,  then,  of  being  isolated 
from  the  commerce  of  the  world,  and  from  the  hourly  intel- 
ligence which  elsewhere  now  flashes  along  the  wires  of  the 
telegraph,  she  will  be  in  the  direct  channels  of  that  com- 
merce and  of  that  intelligence. 

I  have  said  nothing  of  the  hot  springs  and  of  the  mineral 
springs  of  New  Mexico.  These  are  found  in  almost  every 
section  of  the  country.  At  Las  Vegas;  near  Taos;  at  Ojo 
Caliente;  at  Jemez;  near  Fort  McEae;  near  Fort  Selden; 
near  the  Miembres  river,  and  at  many  other  points.  Their 
curative  qualities  have  long  been  known,  and  the  poor  as 
well  as  the  rich,  who  may  happen  to  be  infirm,  flock  to  them 
with  almost  the  same  faith  that  they  will  find  relief,  as  those 
who  "  when  the  waters  were  troubled,"  descended  into  the 
Pool  of  Bethsaida.  Once  the  railroad  touches  New  Mexico, 
these  springs,  which  for  volume  and  medicinal  qualities  ex- 
ceed any  of  those  now  so  celebrated  in  the  Atlantic  States, 


47 

or  in  Europe,  will  attract  thousands  from  all  points  of  the 
civilized  world  to  drink  of  their  healing  waters.  And,  then, 
in  room  of  having  tourists  go  from  our  own  country  to  spend 
their  money  in  sight-seeing  abroad,  they  will  visit  and  won- 
der at  the  magnificence  of  this  American  Switzerland;  whilst 
the  wealthy  of  other  lands,  from  beyond  both  seas,  will  be- 
come tourists  in  our  mountains,  here  to  have  their  villas  and 
their  chateaux;  here  to  breathe  the  pure  air,  and  to  enjoy  the 
most  sublime  scenery  to  be  found  in  the  world.  The  Genii 
in  the  Eastern  Tale  could  never  have  been  more  potent  in 
their  works  of  enchantment  than  Capital  and  Labor  will  be, 
when  giving  to  New  Mexico,  as  the  fruit  of  their  union,  a 
railroad  to  connect  her  with  the  commerce  of  the  two  oceans, 
and  make  her  known  to  the  wealthy  and  cultivated  through- 
out the  world. 

CHARLES  P.  CLEVER. 


